You are my Hope
by RockQueen98
Summary: An unexplainable accident in a Potions class leaves Draco Malfoy poisoned. After Draco survives, Harry Potter is appointed to take care of his former enemy. Will this help in any way at all, or will it just make the current circumstances even worse? DM/HP slash.
1. Back to Hogwarts

Here is my second multi-chaptered story! It's been a while since I finished Another Side of Draco Malfoy, so it's about time I made another one.

In this story, Severus Snape and Remus Lupin didn't die. Just thought I'd point that out. Oh, and sometimes in this I'll be changing perspective: If I'm talking about a single person and they're point of view, then them and their friends will be called by their first names, while others aren't. For example, "Harry looked at Malfoy and his cookies. He suddenly felt sorry for Ron, whom had no cookies,". If I'm talking about several people, then I'll most likely be calling them all by their first names. I hope you understand.

**Warning:** _This story does contain homosexuality. If you have any problems against this, then I recommend leaving and finding a different story to read. Thank you._

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter One - Back to Hogwarts

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the war was over.

People could finally breathe out now they were not in danger of the Dark Lord, and they could live their lives without the worry of their world being taken over by someone so evil. There was still the odd few that were on the dark who, out of their loyalty to Voldemort, tried to act out their own evil deeds, but they never got very far and most were soon caught and sent to Azkaban.

Many seventh year students were suggested to go back to Hogwarts for their "eighth year", as they missed out on a lot of their education. Not all took them on their offer, in fact, it was only a far few as some of them seemed to think that they were fine with their education already, and some also didn't want to go back due to memories of their horrific last year.

The ones who did go back were very enthusiastic about doing so, and wanted to make the most of their last year at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall, the newly appointed headmistress, welcomed them all back gladly, even those who were once Death Eaters and had been cleared. She believed in second chances, especially for those who had no choice for their fate in the war.

Harry, Ron and Hermione relaxed on the Hogwarts Express as it took them to their final year of their education. As they had spent their seventh year on the run, hunting for the dreaded Horcruxes, they obviously had missed out. Even if Ron and Harry wouldn't have liked to go back, Hermione wouldn't have taken no for an answer and would have dragged them by their cloaks onto the Hogwarts Express. Harry and Ron didn't mind going back one bit though, and Harry was looking forward to a year without Voldemort. Or trying to be killed by a basilisk. Or being convinced a madman who broke out of Azkaban was trying to kill him. Or being forced to enter a life-threatening tournament, and many other general things that he had to deal with over the years. No, he wanted a completely normal school year, thank you very much.

_Like that's going to happen..._ Said a small other part of his brain.

He sighed, rested against the chair, and put his feet up in front of him. He smiled at Ron and Hermione cuddled up on the seat opposite him.

"What are you smiling at?" Ron questioned. Harry's grin grew slightly, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I just think you two are really sweet together. That's all. It's about time too," he said. They both smiled back at him, with a blush forming on both of their cheeks slightly.

"Thank you, Harry," they chorused. They were silent for a few moments, and simply took in the nice feeling of being on their school train once again. It was something small, yet it was so lovely to be back there after such a long and tough year previously.

"Isn't it wonderful to be going back to Hogwarts again? I honestly can't wait to get back there," Hermione sighed happily.

"Yeah, it is great to be going back. How many eighth years do you think there will be? I haven't seen a lot of them yet," Harry pondered. Ron and Hermione shrugged.

"No idea really. I've seen Neville, Dean and Sheamus around, but I've not caught anyone else yet. Saying that, we did go straight onto the train and into a compartment, so I guess we didn't get the chance," Ron said. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's true. I think I did see Justin too, from Hufflepuff, but I'm not too sure," she said. "I guess we'll just find out when we get there."

"Speaking of which, we better get there soon, I'm bloody starving! I didn't eat a lot for breakfast!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione shook her head and smirked at him.

"Honestly Ronald, is food all you ever think about? And you had plenty enough for breakfast!"

"'Mione, you should know by now that there isn't really ever a time Ron doesn't think about food. And Ron can never have "plenty enough", he always wants more no matter how much he has!" Harry exclaimed. The three of them burst out laughing over how funnily true Harry's words actually were. They only calmed down from their laughter when their compartment door opened, and Ginny Weasley poked her head inside.

"Hey, guys. Room for one more?" she asked.

"Of course, come on in, Ginny," Hermione said. Harry and Ron smiled and nodded at her in greeting. Her and Harry, to both of their relief, were still friends after they had broken up a couple of weeks after they got back together. Harry had sat her down and told her he thought his love for her was more of the kind of love one would have for a sister, and Ginny simply nodded in understanding, smiled, and said she felt the same way about him. It was lucky for both of them that they saw each other as friends more than a couple.

"How does it feel to be back on this train again then, eh?" she asked with a wink.

"Just... Amazing," Harry said simply.

"Yeah, it's going to be great to be back there," Hermione sighed, and leant back further into Ron's arm around her shoulders.

"This year, we shouldn't have any... Uh... Problems, either. We can just make the most of it," Ron said, relieved." Ginny grinned in understanding.

"Yeah, I definitely see where you're coming from there. It's been one thing after the other with you three, especially Harry,"

"I wonder how it'll be for us, though? I mean, is there room for an extra year? Well, I know that there aren't too many of us, but it's still a thought," Hermione said.

"I haven't thought of that, actually," Harry said thoughtfully.

"How many are there of you, then?" Ginny asked. The three of then shrugged.

"We've got no idea. We've seen Neville, Dean, Sheamus and Justin so far, but no one else," Ron told her.

"Really? I can imagine they'll be more than that. I saw Malfoy, Parkinson and Zabini in a carriage together on the way here, just so you know," she informed them. Ron groaned hid his face into Hermione's shoulder.

"Oh great, we have to spend a year with that bloody prat..." he moaned.

"Come on Ron, he's not how he used to be," Hermione said, sighing.

"He did help us out in the war, after all. He has changed quite a bit," Harry said, as much as he hated to admit.

"Well, yeah, I suppose... It's just... It's Malfoy!" he blurted.

"Oh dear, Ron," Hermione sighed, shaking her head.

"I wonder what he is going to be like this year, actually..." Harry said thoughtfully.

"Who cares? It's Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione laughed, and shook her head at him.

"Yes, you've said that already Ron," she said with another chuckle. Harry laughed too, but his mind was focused on the blonde enemy he had for all his years in Hogwarts.

* * *

"Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts!" Professor McGonagall announced after the sorting ceremony. Her voice was cheerful, and her head was held in high spirits. She clearly was proud to see Hogwarts back to it's previous state, and to be its headmistress.

"I need to first state that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students... And I mean, ALL students," she said with a look at the Golden Trio, who gazed back at her innocently. "I would like to welcome back Professor Remus Lupin, who will once again be taking the spot as your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher!" the hall cheered as the Professor stood up and smiled. Professor Lupin was by far the greatest DADA teacher most of the students had ever had.

"Next, I would like to introduce you to your new Transfiguration teacher, as I am now unavailable for the job after becoming headmistress. I would like you to kindly welcome Professor Louise Shadow!"

The students applauded their new teacher as she stood up and smiled at them. She was young, rather small, and had shoulder-length, choppy, crimson hair. She was very pretty, and seemed quite more edgy and unique than most teachers.

"Yes, a big welcome to Professor Shadow. I would also like to say that this year, we will be joined by what we have called 'eighth years'. These are students who decided to come back after missing out on a lot of their education last year. I don't want anyone treating them differently. They are here for the same reason as the rest of you; to get their education. I would like to ask these eighth years to please stay behind after the feast so I can talk to you all privately. Anyway, that is all I have to say for now. Welcome to another school year, and let us enjoy our first feast!" she announced, and with a clap of her hands, the four tables were filled with all of the delicious food that Hogwarts had to offer. Ron smiled happily, and piled his plate as if his life depended on it. Harry and Hermione chuckled at him as they took their time filling their own plates.

"Boy, have I missed this food!" Ron said with a look of pure bliss on his face after he took his first bite out of a drumstick.

"At least you have the manners now to finish your mouthful before you speak. That was awful," Hermione said. Harry chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Don't say that, he'll start it again!" Ginny said hurriedly, looking down the table at them. The three of them laughed, well, Ron kind of smiled and almost choked on the food he had shovelled in his mouth after he had finished talking, anyway. Hermione sighed at her boyfriend.

"My lord, you would think you haven't eaten in days."

"You know I still love you more, 'Mione," he said with a wink after he swallowed his mouthful. She smiled and gave him a kiss on his lips. Harry chuckled and looked away from them for a minute to have a glance around the Hall. His gaze fell on the Slytherin table, where he caught a sight of the blonde hair of Draco Malfoy. He looked slightly irritated as Pansy Parkinson, his best friend, talked repeatedly to him, a smug grin on her face. She kept glancing over to Harry, he noticed. Ron snapped him out of his thoughts though.

"You alright, mate?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine. I was just distracted." Harry replied. His eyes glanced back again at the Slytherins once more. This time, Malfoy was looking a little bit red and had his head in his hands, while Parkinson was laughing. Shrugging, Harry focused once more on his food and his friends.

* * *

"Thank you for staying behind, everyone," Professor McGonagall said as the eighth years walked over to her after their meal. Harry looked around at his fellow students. There weren't as many as he thought they'd be, for some reason. Perhaps they had already got enough of an education. "You have probably been wondering how this is going to work with you all. Of course, we've had people stay behind an extra year, but never quite this many. So, we decided, as you are all older and of age by now, you deserve a bit more privacy than the rest of the students. Even though you will still be in your own houses, you will all be sharing a tower between you all," she ignored the groans that some of the students made and continued. "I think this will help build some relationships between the houses, instead of you all just keeping to yourselves in your houses. Now, if you would all care to follow me, I will take you there and explain more to you once we arrive," she said, and walked forward. The eighth years followed her, and all immediately starting murmuring to each other about having to share a tower with the other houses.

"Malfoy! We will have to share a dormitory with Malfoy!" Ron groaned.

"Come on Ron, it's not that bad. We might get our own rooms anyway," Hermione told him. Ron sighed in relief.

"I sure hope so, I wouldn't be able to stand being in the same room as that git!" he complained.

"By that, I think you would mean me, Weasley?"

The three of them turned to see Draco, Pansy and Blaise standing behind them. Draco chuckled and smirked at him.

"Mind you, I don't exactly mind too much about this little... Arrangement. Might be a nice change, eh Pansy?" he drawled, turning to her. This seemed to have a different meaning to Pansy, as she giggled.

"Oh Draco. Bless your heart," she cooed at him.

"I cannot believe I am friends with you two. I am going to drown in the amount of Hufflepuff that is seeping out of you both," Blaise muttered. Pansy and Draco laughed, and they walked in front of the Golden Trio, who had slowed down a little.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked his friends.

"No idea, mate," Ron said, shrugging his shoulders. Hermione just simply looked thoughtful, though she did not say anything.

Soon enough, they arrived at the portrait of their new common room. It was one of a beautiful, tall, pale woman, with long black hair and a black flowing dress.

"Password?" she asked.

"Unitàte," Professor McGonagall said. The woman nodded and opened up the entrance.

"What does 'unitàte' mean?" Ron asked.

"Unity. Looks like she's sticking with the whole inter-house relationship theme," said the voice of Draco to the right of them. Ron frowned in confusion, but then saw Blaise nodding in understanding and realised he must have asked the same thing.

"There you go, Ron," Harry said with a chuckle. Ron rolled his eyes as they entered their new common room. There were several gasps of astonishment at the beauty of the room. It was very large, and seemed to be in a very black and white sort of theme. The carpet was black, with a rug by the fireplace which were the colours of the four houses. Cream coloured sofas and armchairs contrasted beautifully with the darkness of the floor. The walls were painted white, and black curtains hung on windows with white frames. There were some black and white bean bags in the corner, and a huge black bookcase stood against one wall. One look at Hermione, and you could tell straight away that she was longing to browse through the glorious selection of novels.

"Yes, it is quite lovely, isn't it? So, this is where you shall be staying. We have worked it out so you all have lessons together, so it doesn't clash with the other years' lessons. Oh, and you will also be sharing a room with one other person only. You don't get to choose, I have chosen them for you. You may not necessarily be with your friends, but if you are not, then I believe that it is time to make new friends. I have written on a piece of parchment who you will be sharing a room with. Then, you will walk up those stairs -" she pointed at a staircase at the other end of the room, "- and on the doors are your names. Find where you are staying, and then... Well, settle in. Have fun," she ended with a wink. She pointed at a piece of parchment pinned to the announcement board, and left. The students paused, then hurried over to see who they were sharing a room with.

Hannah Abbot - Susan Bones

Michael Corner - Justin Finch-Fletchley

Sheamus Finnigan - Dean Thomas

Gregory Goyle - Ronald Weasley

Neville Longbottom - Blaise Zabini

Theodore Nott - Millicent Bulstrode

Pansy Parkinson - Hermione Granger

Harry Potter - Draco Malfoy

There was a couple of cheers, a few groans, and the rest stayed silent, unsure of what to make of their situation. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other and sighed.

"Bloody typical that is, isn't it?" Ron muttered. Hermione nodded, though turned to the giggling form of Pansy Parkinson standing next to Malfoy and Zabini, and raised one eyebrow.

"At least Goyle doesn't seem utterly mental at the moment. I'm going to have to find out what's going on between those three," Hermione said quietly.

"It's just so bloody typical that Professor McGonagall would put me with Malfoy, isn't it?" Harry mumbled.

"At least he has some brains, I guess. Goyle is completely clueless," Ron said, glancing over at the trio of Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott and Millicent Bulstrode.

"Are you saying you prefer Malfoy to Goyle there, Ron?" Harry asked with mock astonishment.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I don't know. I would probably complain either way."

"Fair enough," Harry chuckled.

"Come on, we better get going to our rooms. I wonder how long I can last with her," Hermione said, and she stepped forward to the stairs. Ron and Harry reluctantly followed. There was a corridor at the top of the stairs, and another staircase further down. The three of them looked for their doors. Ron and Harry didn't find theirs, but Hermione spotted her's close to the stairs.

"Well, I guess I'll see you to later," she said.

"Oh, hello, Granger!" Pansy said from behind the smaller girl. Hermione simply nodded and entered the room. Pansy turned to Ron and Harry, and winked. "Have fun, you two," she chuckled, and closed the door after she entered the room. Ron looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Hermione's right, she is mental," Ron said. They went up to the next floor, which had another four doors. Harry saw Malfoy opening a door further down.

"Well... See you then, Ron," Harry said awkwardly.

"Yeah... Bye," Ron replied, and he entered a room to his left. Harry walked over to his and Malfoy's room. Malfoy was taking his shoes off on his bed, which was covered in a silver and green cover, with the Slytherin curtains, while Harry's bed was the same in a Gryffindor fashion.

"Hello there, Potter." Malfoy greeted. Harry nodded and closed the door. He looked around and saw a long desk with two chairs in the room too. He sighed and sat down on his bed. It was good to be back at Hogwarts, but he wasn't too sure if what to make of this situation.

Draco watched Potter lean back into his bed, and close his eyes. Draco rolled his own eyes, picked up his scarf out of his trunk and threw it at Potter. He jolted upwards, looked at the scarf, and glared at Draco, who simply laughed.

"What was that for?" He demanded. Draco shrugged and smirked at him.

"Felt like it. I wouldn't want you to fall asleep in your robes now, would I?" He drawled, and reached over for his scarf. Potter handed it to him and leant back again, but didn't close his eyes. "Are you tired or something?" Draco asked.

"No. I'm just thinking," Potter replied.

"Of what?"

"Nothing."

Draco chuckled and got up off his bed. Potter looked up at him curiously.

"Where are you off to?" he questioned.

"The bathroom," Draco replied, pointing at a door on other side of the room. Potter looked at it, then back at Draco.

"I didn't see that there," Potter muttered, then went to his trunk and starting sorting through his school books. Draco went to his own trunk, took out his toiletries, and walked into the bathroom. He placed them neatly by the sink. He grinned at his reflection. _I'm sharing a room with Draco Malfoy..._ He thought to himself. Pansy will want to hear literally everything he said tomorrow.

He turned and exited the bathroom to find Potter placing his books on one side of the desk.

"Quite spacious, isn't it?" Draco said as he got his own books out to place on the desk. Potter nodded slowly at him and sat back down on his bed, yawning as he did so. An awkward silence fell on the room before Potter spoke.

"I'm surprised, you know."

"What of?"

"That you haven't started a fight yet." Draco laughed and sat down on his own bed.

"Well, my mind isn't always focused on starting a fight when I'm with you, Potter."

"That's certainly a change," Potter mumbled, but Draco heard him clearly enough.

"No. It's not," Draco corrected him. Potter looked at him and opened his mouth to speak, but yawned instead. "We might as well get in bed. It's getting late, and you look shattered," Draco added. Potter nodded, got his pyjamas out of his trunk, and drew his curtains round his bed. Draco did the same, changed into them, and lay down his head on the pillow, suddenly exhausted.

"Goodnight, Potter," he whispered more to himself, and closed his eyes.

* * *

I actually had to type this all out on my phone, of all things.

Please review! They keep me motivated and make me post faster! Also, I want to know what you think so far. Thanks for reading!


	2. An Antidote gone Wrong

Hi guys! I was happy when I saw that quite a few people have followed this! Maybe leave a review this time? ;)

This is a pretty long chapter, longer than any of the chapters I made in Another Side of Draco Malfoy! Yay!

I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

Draco woke to the sound of groaning in the room.

He sleepily drew the curtains across and looked at the clock him and Potter had to share. It said '07:05'. He yawned, and when he heard another groan, he looked over at Potter's bed, where it seemed to be coming from. Yep, that was definitely it. Sighing, Draco got out of bed, and awkwardly stood by Potter's. It's not like you can knock on a curtain or anything.

"Uh, Potter?" He didn't get any response, though Potter was still making noises. He couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not. Hesitantly, he pulled the curtain across. Potter was clutching his pillow, sweat trickling down his forehead. He moaned and grabbed onto the pillow harder. He didn't seem very comfortable at all.

"Potter, wake up. Potter. WAKE UP POTTER, YOU GIT!"

That worked. Potter shot up and was panting heavily. Draco looked at him, trying not to look concerned, even though he most definitely was. Potter looked at Draco and sighed.

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Thanks I guess?"

"No need for the sarcasm. You didn't really seem to be having the best sleep in the world," Draco snapped. Potter blinked and shook his head.

"It wasn't meant to be sarcastic," he muttered. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, alright. You're welcome, I suppose. Were you having a nightmare?" he asked. Potter looked up at him, and nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I've not had them that often since the war, though," he said. He got off his bed and picked up his school robes. Draco watched as he did so.

"Care to talk about it?" Draco questioned. Potter once again looked over at him, and this time shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. I'll be back in a minute, I'm just going to use the bathroom before you manage to take it over," he said with a smirk, and went inside. Draco chuckled, and took the moment to get dressed into his own robes while Potter was gone. He could hardly believe that they were both not arguing. Yes, it was immensely awkward, but they weren't down each other's throats either. That was a start.

About ten minutes later, Potter came out of the bathroom dressed in his robes and with a towel wrapped around his shoulders. It was strange to see his hair flat for a change.

"What are you looking at?" Potter asked as he sat down in a chair by their desk. It wasn't quite said with the venom that would normally be there, and Draco was glad. Perhaps the war had changed them _both_, not just himself.

"Nothing. You just look different with your hair wet," he said, then got up. "I'm going to the bathroom. And no, I will not take a whole bloody hour," he added with a smirk. To his surprise, Potter smiled back.

* * *

The shout of Malfoy woke Harry, and he sat up panting. He rarely got nightmares now that he was no longer connected to Voldemort, but that didn't stop him having general nightmares of several events that happened in the war. It was easy for him to put up with them, though. Years of having visions in his sleep made him like that. He looked up at Malfoy, who was standing over him looking... Concerned?

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Thanks I guess?" Harry said. He immediately scolded himself for giving his gratitude in an utterly stupid way. It was no wonder Malfoy didn't take it seriously.

"No need for the sarcasm. You didn't really seem to be having the best sleep in the world," he snapped. Harry blinked in shock, but then shook his head. He understood why Malfoy would be annoyed, after all.

"It wasn't meant to be sarcastic," Harry muttered. It wasn't exactly an apology, but then again, saying sorry to your former enemy isn't exactly an easy thing to do. Malfoy raised one blonde eyebrow at him.

"Oh, alright. You're welcome, I suppose. Were you having a nightmare?" he asked. Harry looked back up at him, and slowly nodded his head. Was Malfoy actually interested?

"Yeah. I've not had them that often since the war, though," Harry said. He got up and went over to pick up his robes, because one, he wanted to get dressed, but mainly because he felt a bit awkward. He felt Malfoy's eyes watching him as he did so, but didn't choose to comment.

"Care to talk about it?" Malfoy asked him. Wait, what? Harry looked over, a little surprised at the genuine and even kind question. He still shook his head, though. He rarely liked to talk about his nightmares, especially someone like Malfoy, even if he had changed.

"No, I'm fine. I'll be back in a minute, I'm just going to use the bathroom before you manage to take it over," Harry said with a smirk, and entered the bathroom. He hoped Malfoy just took what he said as a joke. Saying that, why did he care? Maybe it was due to the fact that they had to share a room for the rest of the year. Harry put down his school uniform, and turned on the shower. He took off his pyjamas, and stepped under the warm water. While he was in there, he thought over his current situation. Was it really that bad that he had to share a room with Malfoy for the rest of his eighth year? A few years ago, he wouldn't bother questioning it, even for a second. But now... It was different. Malfoy had actually helped them in the war. Him and his mother left his father, Voldemort and the whole of the dark side to help the light. How can you not forgive someone after that?

He turned the shower off after a few minutes, and started to get changed into his uniform. After putting his towel back around his shoulders, he went back into the main room. Malfoy was sat on his bed, now dressed in his Slytherin robes. He was staring up at Harry's, for once, flat hair.

"What are you looking at?" Harry asked jokingly. Well, he hoped Malfoy realised it was a joke anyway. He sat down in a chair by their desk, and looked back at Malfoy.

"Nothing. It's just that your hair looks when it's wet," he said, then he got up off his bed. "I'm going to the bathroom. And no, I will not take a whole bloody hour," he added with a smile. Harry grinned back. What harm would it do?

As soon as Malfoy entered the bathroom, there was a knocking at the door.

"Harry? Are you awake, mate?" he heard Ron call through the door. Harry got up and opened it. Ron looked extremely irritated.

"Where's Malfoy?" he asked.

"In the bathroom, why?"

"Can I come in for a minute while he's in there? Then we can go for breakfast."

"Uh, sure. Come on in," Harry said, gesturing towards the room. Ron nodded his thanks, and sat down on Harry's bed. Harry sat down beside him.

"What's up with you?" Harry asked.

"What do you think? I just had to spend the whole bloody night with Goyle, of all people! What the bloody hell was McGonagall thinking? I'm going to end up killing him!" Ron groaned. "I'm sure she is laughing right now in her office. I bet you anything."

"Well, it's only for a... Year. Uh, it could be for longer, I guess," Harry said in an attempt to comfort him.

"Could be for longer? It's our last year! He snores really loudly, and everything about him annoys me! Goyle! I can't believe it!" He sighed, but then grinned at Harry. "Oh well. At least you and Hermione are with people you don't like too. Speaking of which, how was it, spending the night with that Death Eater?" Harry was about to tell him off for using that to describe him, but then...

"What a nice way to describe someone who risked their life to swap sides and help stop the dark side. I adore the amount of gratitude you have for me right now," said the cold voice of Malfoy behind them. Silently, he put a couple of books in his bag, put it on his shoulder, and walked out of the room, slamming the sour behind him. Harry looked at Ron and sighed.

"Come on Ron, he isn't a Death Eater anymore. Give him a break," he said.

"Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater, in my opinion. Anyway, shall we go and meet Hermione?" Ron asked, changing the subject. Harry nodded, even though he did not agree with his friend one bit.

* * *

"You okay, Draco?" Pansy asked her friend, who simply sighed a little and buried his face into his palm while he stabbed into his eggs with a fork in his other hand. Both her and Blaise knew something was wrong with him, they could tell as soon as he met them in their common room.

"Come on Dray, you're not going to feel any better if you just keep it to yourself," Blaise said.

"It's that fucking Weasel, that's what," he muttered. The eggs were very mushed up by now.

"Hun, stop abusing those poor eggs and tell us what that Gryffindor said to you," Pansy said.

"Well, he didn't say anything to me exactly. He was talking to Ha-Potter about me. Seems like all he sees in me is the fact I was a Death Eater," he said.

"At least Potter didn't say that about you... Did he?" Blaise asked. Draco shook his head quickly.

"He's been alright with me. We've been getting along okay, actually," he said with a smile.

"See? Just ignore ickle Weaslebee over there and focus on Potter!" Pansy exclaimed.

"It's a bit hard to simply ignore him. You've seen how much he hates me, even after all I did," Draco sighed. "I guess I don't mind him as long as he doesn't get in the way of me and Potter. Which he probably will do."

"If he does, we'll sort him out. You've been wanting this for years, Dray! Don't let that goddamn Weasel stop you!" Pansy chirped.

"Keep your voice DOWN, Pans!" Draco hissed. A couple of Slytherins were peering down at them curiously.

"Sorry hun. But this is your chance! You are sharing a room with him for the rest of the year! A whole year! I can't wait for you to get together! Isn't it the most amazingly sweet thing ever, Blaise?" Pansy cooed.

"I just think you are becoming amazingly Hufflepuff-y, Pans," Blaise said, sighing.

"Aw, don't be like that! It is adorable, and you can't deny it!" she said happily. "I bet you are so hopeful now you have the perfect opportunity, Draco!"

"Well, obviously I am. I might actually get a chance with him now," he said, a slight blush forming on his face. "It would make me so happy."

"It would make me so happy as well, and I'm not even you!"

"I am surrounded by Hufflepuffs," Blaise groaned.

"You love us really, Blaise. Don't deny it," Pansy said with a wink.

"Yes, yes I do... For some reason I don't know of," Blaise chuckled.

"And we love you too for some reason we don't know of, isn't that right, Draco?" he didn't answer, so she sighed and elbowed him hard in his side. He jumped up and glared at her.

"What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his side.

"Because I was talking to you and you were staring over at the Gryffindor table," she answered simply.

"Oh, uh... Sorry," he said, and starting eating the remainders of his eggs.

"That's alright. I mean, the love is too strong for you to be able to listen, right?" He spluttered and choked on a large piece of egg when she said the word 'love'. She giggled as Blaise hit him on the back and a few people starting looking over.

"Love? Who said anything about love? It's just a little crush, for crying out loud!" Draco cried.

"Oh come on, Draco. I think it's a little more than a 'little crush', you've liked him since first year, for the love of Salazar!" Pansy exclaimed.

"Salazar? With how you've been acting, I would expect you to say Helga! On a serious note, Draco, she does have a point. I'm pretty sure it's a bit more than a crush," Blaise said.

"Yeah, well, he's not going to fall for me, is he? He's straight", Draco said.

"Maybe he's not, Dray. Yeah, he's been with girls, but he could be bi-sexual," Pansy said brightly.

"I suppose so..." Draco said thoughtfully.

* * *

"Why does that ferret keep looking over at us?" Ron asked five minutes after they sat down in the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione looked up and at the Slytherin table. Malfoy was looking down at his plate while Parkinson and Zabini were facing him.

"Um, he's not looking at us, Ron," Harry said.

"He was a moment ago! That was the third time, I'm sure!"

"How do you know unless you were looking over yourself?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.

"Because, I knew he was looking at us! That's the only time I have been looking over there!"

"Relax, Ron. He's not doing anything wrong by looking over. Just leave him," Harry said. Ron huffed and stabbed into his bacon with his fork, but didn't say anything more.

"So, how did last night go for you two?" Hermione asked.

"Awful, absolutely awful. He snored like crazy, and when he talked, he only came out with really dumb grunts. I don't know how long I'm going to cope for the rest of the year!" Ron complained.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it, Ron. What about you, Harry?" Hermione said, smiling.

"Well, it wasn't too bad really, to be honest," Harry said truthfully. Ron stared at him in shock, while Hermione looked less surprised.

"Are you serious, mate?" Ron asked, and Harry nodded at him.

"Well, yeah, I am. We didn't argue at all, and we were... Civil. He did snap at me once, but it was understandable. I would have in his position," Harry said. Ron stared at him in disbelief, while slowly shaking his head.

"Wow, I can hardly believe that. Malfoy being civil with you..."

"I think it's great that you two are getting along fine. You've both grown up now, so it's time that you both stopped with the rivalry you once had," Hermione said, still smiling.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Harry said, and smiled back at her. "Anyway, what about you, 'Mione? How did it go with Parkinson?"

"Oh, I guess it was alright. She was a little less mental when we were together, but she still seemed randomly happy and excitable about something," she said. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"That's a bit strange," he said.

"Still better than Goyle," Ron said. Hermione and Harry both laughed.

"Anyway, excuse me for changing the subject, but what do we have first? I've forgotten my timetable," Harry asked, while searching through his school bag.

"We have Potions," Hermione said. Both Harry and Ron let out a groan.

"Oh, terrific. Let's hope that me seeing his memories and his near-death experience shall make him a little nicer." Harry muttered, suddenly in a slightly worse mood.

* * *

The eighth year students stood inside Professor Snape's room, waiting. He said to not sit down yet as he was choosing where they all sat, in their requested pairs.

"Professor McGonagall has told me to inform you that for all of your lessons that you have with them, you will be sitting and working with whoever you are sharing a room with. Let's see how well this goes," drawled the Potions Master, directing a look at Harry. "I have wrote your names down on a piece of parchment in where you'll all be sitting. It will burn away when you sit down. Hurry up then, find where you're sitting. We haven't got all day." The students quickly and quietly searched for where they had to sit. Harry soon found his at the front of the classroom, with of course, Malfoy's name next to it. They reached the desk, nodded at each other curtly, and sat down. The pieces of parchment in front of them set fire, and a second later, they had disappeared. Ron and Goyle were on the desk to the right of theirs, but to Harry's dismay, it was Goyle who was closer to him.

"That took longer than you needed to take. Anyway... Today, you'll be making an antidote to the Bloodroot poison. One of you must try the antidote and make sure it works. It will make you feel different, so that's how we'll tell. You must leave it for several hours before it is ready, so I must ask you all to quickly come here after dinner. The ingredients and method is on the board. Go on, you have one hour."

Harry sighed and turned to Malfoy.

"Guess we better get started then, huh?"

"Yeah. I'll get the ingredients, you get the equipment." Harry nodded and went off to get the equipment written on the board.

* * *

Draco relaxed back as him and Potter finished the potion. They had done it perfectly, thanks to his Potions skills of course, and Professor Snape had nothing to criticise. Not like he would say anything to his godson, anyway.

"So... Who's going to test it?" Potter asked him while they were waiting for everyone else to finish.

"I will," said Draco immediately.

"Are you sure?" Potter asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, what's the worse that could happen? We made it perfectly," Draco didn't really know why he wanted to be the one to test the potion. Probably because he would hate himself if something bad happened to Ha... Potter.

"Yeah, that's true. It's just that you did more of the work, so I don't mind..." Potter said.

"I really don't mind taking it myself, Potter. I'm taking it, end of story," Draco said firmly.

"If that's what you really want, then okay," Potter said. Draco smiled slightly, and then chuckled when he saw Pansy looking at him with her hands together, mouthing 'Aww' at him with Granger looking at her curiously.

"What are you laughing at?" Potter asked.

"It doesn't matter. Just a funny thought," Draco told him, grinning.

* * *

"It has been so cute today with you and Potter! You haven't argued in a single lesson!" cooed Pansy as they sat down for their dinner.

"Yeah, I know. You've already said this," Draco sighed, but still smiled all the same.

"We have to go to Potions after this, don't we?" Blaise questioned.

"Yeah, we do. Testing these antidotes better not take too long, I've already got a load of homework to do," sighed Pansy.

"Same here, unfortunately," Draco said.

"Are any of you two nervous about trying this out?" Blaise asked. Both Pansy and Draco shook their heads.

"I'm not the one trying it out, Granger offered straight away," Pansy said.

"Potter and I made ours perfectly, so I'm not bothered about trying it out," Draco smiled.

"Oh. I am a bit, you know, because of having to work with Longbottom. I did everything to do with making the potion, but I'm still worried that he did something to it when I was turned away or something," Blaise said.

"Why didn't you just get Longbottom to try it?" Pansy questioned.

"I offered. It's too late now."

"Why did you offer?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, I guess because I was the one who made it and all," Blaise answered with a shrug.

"We both now why Draco offered," Pansy said to Blaise with a wink.

"Yeah, we can't have anything happen to dear Potter now, can we?" Blaise said. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, everything is coming back to that. How about I tease you about Longbottom?" Draco smirked.

"Tease me about Longbottom? I'm straight, you git," Blaise responded, and starting eating his food. Draco laughed, then looked down the table at the other eighth years.

"Millicent, could you pass down that pumpkin juice, please?" Draco called.

"Yeah, sure," she called back, and pushed the jug towards him.

"Thanks!" he poured himself a glass of the juice, and Pansy sighed at the empty jug left behind.

"Damn, you had to get the last bit, didn't you?" she muttered.

"Yup, because I'm amazing like that," he replied, and took a sip of the drink. It tasted a little bit odd, and he choked after he swallowed it. Blaise thumped him on the back as he coughed repeatedly.

"Merlin, what is with you and choking today?" Pansy laughed.

"I don't know, but that pumpkin juice tastes horrible. Try it," Draco said, handing her his glass. She took a sip, and from the look on her face, Draco could tell she also found the taste odd.

"Ew, that's disgusting," she said. She turned to Blaise and handed him the glass. He paused as he raised it to his lips, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"How badly does it taste?" he asked her.

"Pretty bad. It tastes like -" she was interrupted by a smash down the table. The three of them, and the majority of the Hall looked at the source of the noise.

"Oops." Goyle said stupidly, and in front of him were shards of glass. A few people laughed, and turned back to their meals.

"That was a bit stupid. Anyway, why did you put it down just then? Drink it! I dare you!" Pansy said to Blaise, who shook his head.

"I think I'll pass, thank you," he said. Pansy laughed and reached over the table to slap him on his arm.

"Cowardly git."

* * *

Less than an hour later, all of the students were waiting for Professor Snape outside of the Potions classroom so they could test their Potions. Ron, of course, was not happy. At all.

"Why couldn't we just test these out next lesson? We have homework to do! I'd rather be doing that than testing some stupid potion! I'm not even testing it myself, so why do I have to be here?" Ron moaned.

"Stop complaining, Ron. It won't take very long at all," Hermione said.

"No, it will not, Mr Weasley. Five points from Gryffindor for your whining."

They turned and saw Snape standing behind them, a cold glare fixed on Ron. He walked forward into the classroom and beckoned them inside. He sat down at his desk and waved a hand towards their potions, which had been put to the side.

"Your names are by your cauldron. Hurry up and test it, I want you here as much as you," he commanded. The students quickly walked over to their cauldrons and their partners. Harry turned to Malfoy, who was filling a flask with the antidote.

"Are you sure you are alright with testing this, Malfoy?" Harry asked. Malfoy sighed and nodded.

"For the last time Potter, I am testing it. That way, I've got Saint Potter there for me if I drop dead or something," he said, and smirked. He raised the flask of the liquid. "To us, not arguing 24/7!" he announced, and Harry laughed. Malfoy raised the flask to his lips, and downed the potion in one great gulp. He shuddered, and placed the flask down. He gasped and clutched his throat, and Harry frowned and grabbed Malfoy's arm.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" he asked hurriedly. Malfoy opened his mouth to speak, but instead of words, he coughed and blood splattered onto the floor. He fell against Harry as more blood dropped out of his mouth, his face pale and his body shaking.

"Malfoy?! PROFESSOR! Professor Snape!" Harry yelled as Malfoy's eyes rolled back before his eyelids closed and he lost consciousness. Snape hurried over to them, and stared wide eyed at his godson.

"WHAT DID YOU DO, POTTER?!" He bellowed as he took Malfoy from Harry's arms.

"I didn't do anything! He just took the antidote, and then..." Harry couldn't finish his answer. The class were now staring in horror at the limp body in Snape's arms. A couple screamed as he coughed up yet more blood, including Pansy, who was extremely pale and had her hand over her mouth. Snape cast a lightening charm on Malfoy, and picked him up in his arms.

"Come with me, Potter! The rest of you, no more testing those antidotes without me!" Professor Snape roared, and swept out of the classroom. He was so quick, Harry had to run to catch up with him. After climbing up the stairs, to Snape and Harry's disbelief, a little more blood escaped Malfoy's lips. He was breathing heavily and many beads of sweat were trickling down his white face. Harry looked at him panicked as they rushed through the corridor to the infirmary.

"What is wrong with him?" Harry asked Snape as they climbed up more stairs, this time slower to prevent Malfoy from coughing up any more blood. Luckily, he didn't.

"I don't know for sure, Potter. But I'm not blaming you," Snape answered, and ignored the look of shock on Harry's face. A few minutes later, they managed to make it to the hospital wing without any incidents of Malfoy coughing up blood. Madam Pomfrey stared at them when they rushed into the infirmary, and quickly helped Snape place Harry down on one of the beds. A first year Hufflepuff looked at them curiously from the other side of the hospital wing as they did so.

"Whatever happened, Severus?" Pomfrey cried as she grabbed a cloth and gently wiped Malfoy's face with it.

"I have no idea, Poppy. They were testing out antidotes to Bloodroot poison, and next thing you know..." As if it was on cue, Malfoy shuddered and heaved up some more blood, more than last time. Pomfrey cried out, and quickly looked through her potions for something to give him, after she cleaned the blood with a _Scourgify._

"Did he make it correctly? Did he put something wrong in there?" she asked hurriedly.

"Yes, I made sure they were all okay after the lesson. I don't know why he is reacting like this..." Snape said, and even his usual cold voice couldn't hide the worry in his voice.

"I'll give him some Blood Replenishing potion as soon as he wakes up, but I'd rather take tests on him to see how we can help him while he's awake. He seems to have calmed down now a bit, so hopefully nothing else would happen until he is awake." Madam Pomfrey said.

"It looks like poison, doesn't it?" Snape said, concerned. Pomfrey nodded and sighed.

"Yes, but different than regular poisons. Potter, I need you to stay here with Malfoy. He needs that potion as soon as he wakes up, understand? I will call a house elf to get your things for you, and Malfoys too," Pomfrey said. Harry nodded in understanding, and sat down on the bed near Malfoy's.

"I better get going back to my classroom and test that so-called antidote again. I'll be here in the morning," Snape said, and took another concerned glance at Malfoy before leaving. Pomfrey smiled at Harry, and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll find out what is wrong with him," she said, then retreated to her office. A few minutes later, a house elf apparated into the room, a small one which he did not recognise. She was trying to pull along both Malfoy's and Harry's trunks, so Harry quickly helped her move them by the ends of their beds.

"Thank you, sir. Twinky is a small elf, she can't carry heavy things. Sorry, sir." the house elf squeaked.

"Don't worry about it, Twinky," Harry assured her, smiling.

"Twinky hopes Master Malfoy gets better soon, Master Potter," she said. Harry paused, looked at Malfoy, and nodded.

"...Yeah. Me too," he said quietly.

"Twinky has to go back to the kitchens now sir, but Twinky is here if Master needs anything!" she said cheerfully. She disapparated, and Harry was left alone again, apart from a sleeping first year and an unconscious Malfoy. He wondered for a moment why any of Malfoy's friends had visited yet, but then realised Snape must have sent them back to their tower.

Suddenly, a gasp from Malfoy jolted Harry out of his thoughts. He was shaking tremendously. Harry quickly moved to his side, picked up the cloth, and wiped Malfoy's forehead with it. Harry sighed in relief when Malfoy stopped trembling and his breathing slowed down.

"What on Earth has happened to you?" Harry whispered.

* * *

Thank you for reading, and if you aren't too busy, a review would be lovely!


	3. Protector

**A/N: **Hello guys!

I'm sorry this chapter isn't as long as the last one, and that it may not be as good! It's mainly a filler and a little bit of an idea of what's going on.

I can assure you though, I do have a couple of great ideas for this story! I have also recently thought of something that will happen in this story which I cannot wait to write! This has resulted in me raising the rating to M just to be on the safe side.

Please make sure to read the A/N at the end, thank you!

**By the way, this information about the potion isn't based off facts from the series, it is made up by me. Please don't try to correct it or anything like that. Thank you.**

* * *

The next morning, Harry woke to the sound of someone hurrying around besides him. He opened one green eye and peered to his side. He opened the other when he saw Madam Pomfrey by Malfoy's side. _Malfoy? What's he doing here?_ Harry asked himself. But then he realised; the Potions accident. He suddenly felt a little sick at the memory of what happened that previous night. What was wrong with the so-called "antidote' that they made? It seemed more like a poison than an antidote for one, yet they made it perfectly; even Professor Snape had said so...

"Oh, good morning, Mr Potter. I didn't realise you were awake."

Harry snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the nurse with a smile.

"Yeah, only just. Is... Is he okay?" Harry asked. She sighed and brushed the hair on her forehead back.

"I really don't know. I can't test anything until he is awake, and I don't know how long it will be until he wakes," she sighed. She glanced over at his unusually pale face, at the pure white skin. There was no colour there, not even his cheeks. Shadows formed around his eyes as if he hasn't slept in days.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" she asked softly. He hesitated, before nodding slowly.

"Well... Yeah. I mean, we're not really enemies anymore..." he said.

"I think you would still be at least concerned even if he was still your enemy." she smiled.

"Yeah... I guess I would be..." he said thoughtfully. A silence fell on the infirmary for a minute, before Malfoy let out a gasp and started shaking tremendously. Pomfrey quickly reached out and grabbed the Blood Replenishing potion she left by his bed that previous night.

"Hold him upright, Potter! Make sure his head his held up!" she ordered as she did so. Harry rushed by Malfoy's side and put his arm round the blonde, holding him up. His eyes were starting to flicker open, and he was groaning.

"What... It hurts..." he mumbled.

"Mr Malfoy, I need you to drink this potion NOW," Pomfrey said.

"I-," clutched his throat as his eyes grew wide. Harry was pretty certain he heard Pomfrey swear under her breath.

"Malfoy, please! I need you to drink it!" she cried. Malfoy shakily nodded and allowed her to help him drink it. Pomfrey let out a sigh of relief, and Harry stood back away from him. He relaxed against the cushions behind him, breathing heavily.

"What happened to me?" he asked in a strained voice. He coughed and rubbed his throat, wincing.

"We aren't quite sure yet, Mr Malfoy. We had to wait until you were awake to test you," Pomfrey explained.

"Is he awake?" a voice asked from the doorway. Pomfrey turned and nodded at Professor Snape. The Potions Master quickly moved himself by Malfoy's side. He pressed the back of his hand against Malfoy's forehead, and looked at him concerned.

"How do you feel, Draco?" Snape asked softly. Harry couldn't help but stare; he has never heard the cold professor sound so gentle.

"N-not good..." Malfoy said, and coughed again. "Why would the antidote do this to me? We made it perfectly." Snape took in a deep breath and stayed silent. Harry, Malfoy and Madam Pomfrey all looked at him.

"What is wrong? Do you know anything else now?" she asked. A silence fell on the room for a few moments.

"Well... I tested the potion again, once I went back to my classroom. It wasn't the same as how it was before. It had a rather large dose of the Bloodroot poison, which has an affect because it was mixed in with Dragon Blood, so the antidote you made in the first place didn't do much to stop it. There was also Moonseed poison in there, which mixed in with the ingredients that were already in there, which could give you panic attacks and is what made you cough up blood with the Bloodroot poison and Dragon Blood. This would, normally, obviously result in death, but something prevented it..."

"Oh Salazar," Malfoy cursed, and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"But what could that possibly be?" Pomfrey asked.

"Test him. See what he has consumed," Snape said simply, gesturing towards him. Pomfrey got out her wand and starting muttering a spell under her breath. After a moment, she stopped, and looked a little pale.

"I can't believe how much you've got inside your body right now... But the strange thing is that there is a large amount of substance in you which prevents death from poison. Was there any Sangotum in that potion he drank, Severus?" she asked. Snape shook his head, looking puzzled.

"No, none at all. That's a bit odd; you don't generally randomly drink a good deal of Sangotum in your everyday life. This whole situation his odd, how did all those ingredients end up in Draco?"

"I think it's more of a matter of who," Malfoy said.

"Who?" Harry questioned.

"Why would someone do this to you?" Snape said, looking a little angry at the thought of someone intending to poison his godson.

"Because I'm an ex-Death Eater?" he said.

"You moved over to the light, though. Why would that matter?" Harry asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Malfoy said softly.

"I hate to believe that, but the only way the potion would have became like that if somebody did it themselves... But that still doesn't explain the Sangotum," Snape pondered.

"I guess it could have been slipped into my... Oh," Malfoy said.

"What is it?" Pomfrey asked.

"Well, some Pumpkin juice I had the last bit of yesterday tasted vile. Could that have been it?" Malfoy questioned.

"It's a possibility," Snape said.

"But if someone had tried to poison you, why would they want you to have that Sangotum beforehand?" Harry asked.

"Maybe they don't want me dead. Maybe they just want to cause me pain. And considering the jug was from the Slytherin table, it seems as though it's a Slytherin behind it," Malfoy said. Snape shook his head.

"Not necessarily, Draco. They could have went to the kitchens first or something, and made it look as though it was a Slytherin."

"Oh, great. Somebody out there hates me enough to want to poison me, and it could be anyone. How delightful," Malfoy muttered sarcastically.

"Well, it does seem like the only explanation. But you know what this means, don't you Draco?" Snape asked through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"You're going to have to have someone with you at all times. Clearly, even if their intention isn't to kill, somebody is after you, Draco," Snape explained.

"I can look after myself," Malfoy muttered.

"It's too risky, for all we know, it could be more than one person, as much as I hate to admit it. Also, what happens if you end up coughing up blood and you're on your own? You need someone there to help you."

"Wait, coughing up blood? I thought that stopped?" Harry asked hurriedly. Malfoy nodded in agreement, looking a little worried.

"It won't stop until it is all out of your body. Giving you an antidote for both Bloodroot and Moonseed poison along with a Blood Replenishing Potion for the Dragon Blood will help, but your body will most likely want to dispose of it by itself," Snape sighed.

"Oh, terrific," Malfoy said, while Harry simply looked at the Professor a little shocked.

"So you are to stay with him, Potter."

"Wait, what?" Harry spluttered.

"You heard me. It makes sense; you're going to be sharing a room with him and going to be his partner for the rest of the year anyway."

"Everywhere? All the time?" Malfoy asked.

"Pretty much. We can't have you alone, Draco. I don't want anything to happen to you," Snape said, yet again in the soft voice Harry had never heard from him before.

"Alright. I understand," Malfoy said.

"How do you feel now by the way, Mr Malfoy? I'm wondering if you'll be alright to leave here for now. You won't be any better in a bed than going to your lessons, as long as you take it easy," Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I feel better than I did before. My throat still hurts a bit, but I think I'm fine," he said, and you could tell he was telling the truth; the colour in his face had returned.

"Alright, good. I was going to get you to stay here at night time from now on, but you seem to be fine with the two of you. Remember, sometimes it's best you just... Well... Let it out, in a sense. Mr Potter, you'll need to give him the potion straight after, okay? But if it happens more than twice in one day, come and see me. Also, be careful with your magic. You could find yourself feeling drained quickly and you could make yourself severely ill if you work too hard."

"Yeah, I understand." he replied.

"Draco, take the Moonseed antidote in the morning before you have had breakfast, and take the Bloodroot potion at night after you have had dinner. Speaking of dinner, you don't need to sit together because you have Pansy and Blaise. Just make sure you're with him after that," Snape said.

"Right, okay," Malfoy nodded. Harry didn't bother questioning why Snape didn't just let Malfoy stay with his friends. Maybe he did have a bit of trust in him after all.

"You both better get ready if you want to make it to breakfast on time. Oh, and if you are wondering where your friends are, I told them they can't see you until you're alright to. Just incase," Snape said, with a knowing look at Malfoy. He left the room, and Madam Pomfrey went back to her office. Harry wasn't quite sure what to make out of all this. Somebody was really after Malfoy this badly? Not cause him death, but cause him to suffer? It seemed mad.

"Potter? Hello?" Malfoy's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry Malfoy. What did you say?" Harry asked.

"Just that this is mad. All of this. Who would want to do this to me? I mean, I'm not the most likeable person I know, but to want to poison me...?" his voice drifted off, though he didn't need to say anything else.

"I know. I was thinking the exact same thing."

* * *

"Draco! Oh, thank goodness!" Pansy cried once she saw Draco walking towards them at breakfast.

"You gave us a right scare yesterday. What happened to you?" Blaise questioned as Draco sat down. He took a deep breath and explained everything. What was in the antidote him and Potter had made, how someone was potentially after him, how he had to stay with Potter figuratively all the time, literally the while scenario.

"Wow, Dray... I'm so sorry," Pansy said softly.

"So that means that Pansy randomly had a dose of that Sangotum too?" Blaise questioned. Her eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It won't do you any harm," Draco said quickly. Pansy sighed and relaxed.

"Yeah, it's just an antidote, isn't it? Well, yeah, it's strong, but it won't do anything," Blaise added.

"That is a very large relief," Pansy laughed.

"So... Do you think that they were meant to give you that Sangotum, or it was done by accident?"

Blaise asked. Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm pretty sure they were meant for me to have it. I mean, if it was a murder attempt, then it would be a bit of a stupid idea for me to get me to die in front of a whole potions class and Severus, wouldn't it?"

"Do you think it's an eighth year, then?" Pansy questioned.

"Probably. Who else would know about what we're doing in Potions?"

"Well, that limits it down to who it would be then. There aren't that many of us." Blaise said.

"Yeah, but most of them could be named as suspects. I'm not exactly liked, even though I switched sides," Draco sighed. Pansy grinned and patted his shoulder while looking over at the Gryffindor table.

"I can think of one person who is certainly taking a liking to you," she teased with a wink.

"Oh come on, he doesn't like me, even in a friendly way," Draco said while rolling his eyes.

"He's got to like you at least a bit, Draco. If he didn't, he would have complained and refused the order of looking after you, wouldn't he?" Blaise smirked.

"Well, I suppose not."

"See, Draco? Something good may come out of this whole ordeal. You wait and see," Pansy said cheerfully.

* * *

"YOU HAVE TO LOOK AFTER MALFOY? Merlin's beard... That is just... Awful," Ron cried once Harry had explained everything which had happened. Hermione sighed and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Come on Ron, it's not that much different than before, I guess..." he said in an attempt to make an excuse.

"Harry, you have to help him when he..." Ron shuddered. "That isn't a fun time at all, mate. Especially as it's Malfoy."

"Oh come on, Ron. He's really not that bad," Harry said, trying to keep his temper.

"Whatever you say, Harry. I don't find it as easy to forget everything he has done to us."

"That's in the past though, Ron. Times change."

"He doesn't."

"Will you both please stop it. Harry, you can't change what Ron thinks about him. He's got to learn himself what Malfoy is like now. Ron, you need to accept that Harry believes he isn't like he was, which I have to admit I do agree with, and that Harry is friends with him now," Hermione sighed. Ron huffed, but stayed silent.

"Friends? We're not friends, Hermione," Harry said.

"Well, what are you, then? You're certainly not enemies anymore."

"Uh... I don't know. Acquaintances?"

"Oh come on, Harry. If you're not friends now, you probably will be soon. It's obvious that he wants to become closer to you."

"W-what? Why would he?"

"I think she's gone mad. Anyway, we better get off to our first lesson... Do you have to be with Malfoy on the way to lessons too?" Ron asked.

"Uh yeah, I think so."

"Why can't he just stay with Parkinson and Zabini?"

"Maybe Professor Snape trusts Harry more now. It does make sense," Hermione said.

"Well, I better... You know... Go get him," Harry said awkwardly.

"See you in Defence Against the Dark Arts then, Harry," Ron said. He was starting to look a bit amused.

* * *

Draco gave Potter an awkward nod when he met up with him outside the Great Hall, which the Gryffindor returned. Draco had expected both of their friends to still be with them, but it seems like both of their friendship groups had left them to themselves. Pansy and Blaise left Draco because they thought they would have some "really nice private time" between them both. He had no idea why Granger and Weasley would leave Potter on his own, though. Probably because Weasley hated Draco like crazy.

Him and Potter got a few curious glances as they walked through the corridors together, though both of them were used to high amounts of attention so they were able to ignore them. Draco coughed awkwardly and Potter peered over at him.

"Uh... Thanks. You know, for not making this a big deal or anything." _Oh, real smooth Draco, real smooth._ To his surprise, Potter smiled.

"You're welcome. I wouldn't let you just wander around in potential danger now, would I?" he questioned.

"No, definitely not. Definitely not from the Savour!" Draco chuckled. Potter laughed and gave him a little shove. Once they arrived at their class, with big smiles on both of their faces, Draco couldn't help but chuckle at both of their friendship group faces. Blaise looked pretty pleased and gave Draco a wink, Pansy was looking like a more excitable version of Blaise, Weasley looked amazingly surprised, and Granger... Well, it was hard to read her expression.

"Good morning, everyone," the voice of Professor Lupin behind them. The werewolf took a quick glance at Draco, then ushered them into the classroom.

* * *

Harry was very glad to be back in a Defence Against the Dark Arts class, especially with Remus as the teacher. Harry was a bit on edge during his introduction to the year though because of his concern for Malfoy, but the Slytherin was fine. What was worrying Harry though was the thought of Malfoy coughing up blood, or anything else from the poison, happening randomly, or while one of them were in the bathroom. He was quickly distracted by his worries though when Remus started talking about what they were doing for that lesson.

"As you were supposed to learn it a while ago, we will be learning about conjuring Patronuses today. Yes, I know that some of you would have already learnt this, but there is no harm in practising and some of you have never used the spell in your lives. The spell is named _Expecto Patronum_, and remember to picture the happiest memory you have. Once all of you are able to produce a full Patronus, we will move on to how to use your Patronus to send messages. Work in your pairs, and keep trying until the end of the lesson. Begin," he said to the class. All of the pairs in the class rose from their seats and got their wands out of their pockets. Harry noticed that Malfoy seemed a bit uncomfortable, and looked at him with concern.

"Malfoy? Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"I can't do this. Death Eaters can't," he said simply.

"But... You're not a Death Eater anymore. You can do this," Harry encouraged.

"I know that I'm not. But that whole experience is giving me a bit of a hard time thinking of a happy memory. Plus, with what's been going on recently, it's a bit difficult," Malfoy muttered.

"Hey, if I can do it, you can," Harry chuckled.

"You do it first. Give me a bit of encouragement." Harry nodded and raised his wand.

"Expecto Patronum," he said with a flick of his wrist, and the beautiful stag shot out of the wand. It stood tall in front of them, and Harry turned to Malfoy, smiling.

"You just have to concentrate hard on the memory you choose. It took me a few attempts to get it."

"Right... Okay. Give me a moment," Malfoy said. He closed his eyes for a minute or so, and Harry stayed silent, knowing he was thinking.

"Expecto Patronum."

Nothing happened. Malfoy sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Nothing."

"Come on, you shouldn't be disappointed that you didn't get it first time. Try again," Harry said. Malfoy nodded and once again raised his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Yet again, nothing happened. Malfoy sighed and crossed his arms.

"I knew this wouldn't work."

"Relax, Malfoy. Remember what Madam Pomfrey said? Don't push yourself too much," Malfoy nodded, and sat down. "Are you sure your memory is strong enough? It might not be you, it could be that."

"I think it is..." Malfoy said. He breathed in and yet again raised his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Only a wisp came out of the Slytherin's wand, but to Harry, it was definitely a start, and he smiled. But, when Malfoy clutched his head and fell against the table, his smile faded and he had already rushed by Malfoy's side.

"Malfoy? Are you okay? Is it..." His words trailed off.

"I don't know... I just feel really dizzy. And nauseous. And my stomach hurts..."

"Oh god. We'll go to the bathroom, it's not too far from here... Come on, lets go." Harry put his arm around Malfoy's waist for support, and the latter gratefully put his arm around Harry's. Malfoy was starting to grow pale again, and Harry knew he had to get him to the bathroom quickly. He ignored the stares from his classmates as he walked to the door. Remus simply nodded in understanding when he saw the two boys walking down the classroom. Harry managed to help Malfoy down the corridor to the bathroom, with difficulty, but without any "accidents". Malfoy pulled out of Harry's grasp once they entered the bathroom and fell against one of the sinks, clearly unable to make it to one of the cubicles. He coughed, and it begun yet again. Harry remembered what Madam Pomfrey had said about how it's better for Malfoy to "let it out", so he put a comforting hand on one of Malfoy's trembling shoulders, got the potion out of his pocket ready, and murmured soothing words. It was the best he could do. With a shudder, Malfoy raised his head a little at Harry.

"Thanks Harry, thanks so much..." he coughed once more and closed his eyes when he saw the crimson blood in the sink. Harry only questioned the use of his first name for a moment before he rubbed Malfoy's shoulder.

"Alright... I'm okay now..." He said in a slightly hoarse voice. He rubbed his throat, though luckily, he wasn't how he was before. Harry passed him the potion, and Malfoy downed it in one gulp.

"Thank you."

* * *

Draco leaned back against his pillow that night, unable to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind drifted back to Ha... Potter. He couldn't help it. Were Pansy and Blaise right? Was it... Love? He sighed and sat up in his bed, with his head in his hands. Well, he knew that sleep wasn't going to come to him any time soon. He drew back the curtain around his bed and got up. He quietly walked over to their desk and sat down. His plan was to read a book to try and tire himself out, but he found himself staring out of the window instead. He found the night sky one of the most beautiful forms of nature. He stayed in that for a few minutes before there was a voice behind him.

"You alright? Why are you not in bed?"

Draco turned around at the sound of Harry's (he had given up on thinking Potter) voice, and smiled.

"I can't sleep," he said simply.

"Same here. But you should get back into bed, it won't do you any good sitting there, Malfoy."

"It's Draco," he found himself saying.

"Huh?"

"Draco. Not Malfoy. Call me Draco."

"Oh, okay. Draco it is then."

"And you're right, Harry. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

Draco laid back down in his bed, and this time, he had no trouble sleeping with the thoughts of the raven-haired Gryffindor in his head.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I just wanted you all to know that I will be going back to school on Wednesday so I will start posting weekly so I can still post longer chapters. If I feel as though a chapter will be very late, I will let you all know. I will also try and get another chapter posted before I go back to school.

Anyway, please review! It only takes a moment, and feedback is always appreciated!


	4. A New Face

Hey everyone! I am really sorry that this chapter is a lot shorter. I have been busy with schoolwork and I had a major writers block! I'm sorry if it's not as good because of this either. I tried my best! Plus, it's hard to tell how many words I have typed because I type this in the notes on my phone, which has no word count.

By the way, I'm introducing a new character into the story. Yes, it will still be a Drarry slash fanfic. She's just a character I've had for ages that I draw a lot and decided to use in this.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, and yet again, sorry about the length!

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 4

* * *

Draco moaned in his sleep, sweat trickling down his forehead. He tried to wake up, but he couldn't.

_"He won't ever love you, will he? No one will. You've done too many bad things in your life, Draco. No matter what you do, nobody, especially him, will love you," the snarling voice of his father said to him._

No. It's just a dream. A nightmare.

_"Does that matter? It's still true. You know that it is the truth. Do you really think that he will try and protect you for long? He doesn't care about you, Draco. No one does. And in the end, you will suffer even more._

Draco shot up into a sitting position and gasped. His breathing was heavy, and he could feel his heart pounding into his ears. He tried to calm himself down, but he just couldn't. His chest hurt, he felt dizzy, he was nauseous... And there was that terrible feeling that something was going to happen to him. Or what if something happened to Harry because of him? He put his head into his shaking hands, not knowing what to do. He was scared. He let out a sob which he couldn't hold in, and he heard the other bed creak.

"Draco? Are you alright?" Harry called softly. He heard another creak, his curtains were drawn, and then Harry was standing over him, a look of concern spread across his face.

"I-I..." Draco couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"Don't worry, Draco. It'll be okay. You'll be fine," Harry said soothingly. When he saw that Draco was still shaking, after a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around him and held him close. "I won't let them hurt you, Draco," he said firmly.

Somehow, that did the trick. Draco breathed in slowly, and he had calmed down. When the shaking had stopped, Harry let go of Draco and sat upright on Draco's bed. He suddenly felt a little lost out of the Gryffindor's arms.

"Are you okay, now?" Harry asked, smiling.

"Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry about that," Draco said awkwardly. _Well, this is embarrassing._

"Madam Pomfrey did mention that you may get affected by panic attacks. Did anything cause it, or was it just completely random?"

"Well..." _How do I put this..._ "I was just, uh, having a bad dream. That's all. I guess it got to me a bit."

"What was it about?"

Draco felt a blush form on his cheeks. Harry must have noticed Draco's pause and looked into his eyes. He felt his face go even hotter. _Well, this is very awkward._

"Just my father and all that. It wasn't anything much," he said. Luckily, this seemed enough for Harry. As far as he could tell, anyway.

"Alright, that's good. If you ever need to talk about it though, I'm all ears."

"Thank you, Harry," Draco beamed at him.

Draco was very happy indeed. Pansy was right, Harry did like him, even if it wasn't the way that Draco liked Harry. It was a start, and being friends was certainly better than being enemies too. If someone told him this just a few days ago, he would just have laughed and told them that was a bad joke. It's funny how much difference a couple of days and consuming a deadly poison makes. Draco mentally shuddered. Somehow, saying it in words in your head makes it sound a lot worse.

"You're welcome, Draco. We might want to get ready for breakfast," Harry's voice broke into his thoughts. Draco responded with a nod.

* * *

Harry woke up with a smile. He had such a pleasant dream that night. It was so simple: he was sitting by the lake, and it was nighttime. The moon was bright in the sky, with its reflection shimmering across the still water. Next to him was Draco, and they were simply talking. He couldn't recall the subject of their conversation, but it was just nice how in this dream, they seemed like really good friends. He could tell he definitely preferred friendship than a rivalry, especially how Draco had realised he had made the wrong choices and changed. If only everyone could see the new Draco.

Harry frowned when he heard what sounded like a sob coming from Draco's bed. He sat up and pushed his curtains out of the way.

"Draco? Are you alright?" he called. He paused for a second, and after he did not get a reply, he got out of his bed and pulled Draco's curtains across. You can't knock on a curtain, after all. Harry looked at the blonde concerned.

Draco was sitting in his bed, his face a little pale and little beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. His breathing was heavy and his body was shaking.

"I-I..."

_Panic attacks._ Harry thought, remembering Madam Pomfrey's words.

"Don't worry, Draco. It'll be okay. You'll be fine," Harry said in a hope to sooth him. When he saw that Draco was still shaking, he paused, then without thinking of the outcome, he put his arms around Draco and hugged him close. It felt... Natural.

"I won't let them hurt you, Draco," Harry told him firmly. And he knew he meant every word of it.

He expected Draco to feel uncomfortable in this situation, but to his surprise, the blonde's breathing had slowed down and the shaking was reducing rapidly. Harry couldn't have possibly be more relieved; he never had dealt with something like that before. He smiled and let go of Draco.

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry about that."

Why did he apologise? It's not like it was his fault.

"Madam Pomfrey did mention that you may get affected by panic attacks. Did anything cause it, or was it just completely random?" Harry asked. He wasn't just saying it for conversation; he was genuinely interested. Perhaps something had happened which caused it.

"Well," he hesitated. "I was just, uh, having a bad dream. That's all. I guess it just got to me a bit." _He got like that from a nightmare? How bad was it?_

"What was it about?" Harry questioned. For some reason he wasn't sure about, a slight blush formed on the Slytherin's cheeks. He couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or angry. He looked into Draco's eyes, hoping to find an answer. They didn't look angry, and his face grew a deeper shade of pink. Strange.

"Just my father and all that. It wasn't anything much."

Harry could tell that Draco wasn't telling the whole truth, and clearly seemed embarrassed by it. He knew that pestering the truth out of Draco would not be the best way to find out the full length of it. He cared more about being a good friend right now rather than finding out the truth. Wait, since when did he care about being a good friend of Draco's? _Since you realised he isn't a complete git like Ron thinks?_

"Alright, that's good. If you ever need to talk about it though, I'm all ears."

This was clearly the right thing to say. A friendly smile grew on the boy's face, and his eyes lit up happily. He never realised how brightly grey they looked when Draco was happy. Saying that, he had never really seen Draco truly happy before recently.

"Thank you, Harry."

Harry. He could hardly believe that he was being called by his given name from Draco Malfoy. And also getting a genuine thanks from Draco Malfoy.

"You're welcome, Draco. We might want get ready for breakfast," Harry said. Draco nodded at him. He slid off the bed. Draco did the same, grabbed his robes, and grinned at Harry.

"I'm going in the bathroom first," he said. Before Harry could object, he was already in the doorway. Before entering fully however, he turned back to Harry.

"By the way, thanks for everything you have been doing for me. I appreciate it," Draco said. Before Harry could reply, he was already gone.

* * *

"Good morning, Harry!" Ron said cheerfully when he and Draco entered the common room.

"Hi, Harry. Did you sleep well?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I did, thank you. Yourself?"

"Very well, thank you," the Gryffindor replied. She paused and looked at Draco. "Malfoy."

"Granger," Draco replied awkwardly. Harry kept in his urge to laugh and instead gestured to the door.

"Come on, let's go," he said. Draco nodded and they both walked towards the end of the common. Harry turned to Draco and opened his mouth to speak, but then...

"ARGH! Shit!"

...Something made the Slytherin trip and he fell over, his head hitting the coffee table. There was literally nothing on the floor that would trip him up even just a little bit.

"Are you alright, Draco?" he asked the fallen boy.

"Shit, that hurt. I'm bleeding, look," Draco answered, and moved the hand he was clutching his head with. There was indeed a cut across his forehead, but luckily, it didn't seem too deep. Harry breathed out in relief. Draco could have seriously hurt himself from that. Harry helped him up and looked at the people in the common room staring at them. He was very angry indeed.

"Who did this?" he bellowed. The students glanced at each other.

"He just tripped, Harry..." Hermione said, but she spoke in an unsure voice.

"It was a Trip Jinx," Draco said quietly, though everyone heard.

"See? Who's been doing all this, then?" Harry demanded.

"He's mental, he is," he heard Justin mumble to Michael besides him.

"Oh, really? Was it you then, huh? I heard you laugh when Draco fell."

"Harry, come on, I'm fine," Draco said to him. He could see that Harry was becoming worried.

"What if this is just the start of it, though?"

A silence fell on the common room. It lasted for at least a couple of minutes before there was a sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Come on, we're going to end up late. You took forever getting ready. You're worse than me, you are," the voice of Pansy said. Her and Blaise stopped at the bottom of the staircase, looking round at the silent common room.

"What's going on?" Blaise asked. Both his and Pansy's gaze fell on Harry and Draco standing in the middle of the room.

"Oh Dray, you're bleeding! What happened?" Pansy cried and rushed over to him, Blaise close behind her.

"Don't worry, Pansy. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad, Draco? Yeah, it might just be a cut, but what if they're just sort of playing around? What if they do something worse?" Harry said. Draco sighed and looked down at his feet, clearly unsure of what to say. Pansy knew that this was clearly the wrong moment and was too serious to acknowledge fully how Harry was calling Draco... Draco.

* * *

"So, do you think the person who jinxed you is the one who poisoned you?" Blaise asked once the trio had sat down. Harry seemed to be reluctant in leaving Draco to go to the Gryffindor table, but seeing as Pansy and Blaise were there, he knew that no serious harm could happen to Draco.

"Yeah, probably. It seems as though this person just wants to make my life a struggle, putting it nicer than I could," Draco replied.

"Some people are awful. I can't understand why someone wants to do this to you," Pansy sighed.

"They must hold a rather large grudge against me for whatever reason. Don't worry Pans, we'll find out who it is," Draco said. The three of them stayed silent while they started their breakfast, though after a glance down the Slytherin table, Pansy spoke again,

"Who's that new girl down there?" she asked. Blaise and Zabini looked down the table at where she was looking. A girl neither of them recognised was sat in between two seventh year Slytherins. She looked like a younger version of Professor Shadow, the new Transfiguration teacher, though she had black hair rather than red.

"I don't know. She must be new. I'm surprised I haven't noticed her already," Draco answered.

"She's really pretty," Pansy said. She glanced back at the new girl, then started eating her food again.

"Doesn't she look an awful lot like Professor Shadow? Maybe she's her daughter?" Blaise suggested. Pansy shook her head.

"Nah, Professor Shadow is too young to have a teenage daughter. Maybe they're sisters or something."

"I'll ask her later. We have Transfiguration next after all," Draco said.

* * *

"A new Slytherin girl who looks like me? Yes, that is my sister. She's called Skià."

Draco kept to his word of asking Professor Shadow about this new girl. Harry stood by him of course while he did so.

"Oh, that's nice," Draco smiled.

"Yes, she is a very nice girl. Mysterious though, you can never tell what is going through her mind. She has had visions before too; she took the gift from our mother."

"Visions? Like, premonitions and that sort of thing?" Harry asked. The Professor nodded.

"Yes. She is very shy about it, though. She doesn't like to talk about it very much. Anyway, you two better be heading off to your next lesson." she said. They both nodded, Draco thanked her, and they left.

* * *

Draco and Harry were walking down the corridor to the eighth year tower. It wasn't time for the students to go back, it was actually time for them to go to dinner, but an ordeal in the Great Hall left Draco and Harry wandering back to their room to have their meal there.

Draco had sat down by Pansy and Blaise like he usually did at meal times, but then he suddenly felt the familiar feeling in his stomach. Harry noticed this from all the way across the Hall, and hurried over to Draco's side. It didn't seem like nothing was going to happen to him just yet, but Harry escorted him out of the Hall, deciding that it would be best for them to have their dinner in their room.

"Do you feel like you're going to do anything, yet?" Harry asked as they walked.

"Not yet. I only have that pain in my stomach... Hey, what's going on over there?" Draco said, pointing over at the end of the corridor. There were what looked like three students, though two seemed to be cornering one of them.

"Oi! Get away from them!" Harry shouted as he and Draco jogged down the corridor towards them. The two students, which they saw were Slytherins, gave them a rude hand gesture and ran past them, laughing.

"See you later, freak!" one of them yelled as they turned the corner.

Draco and Harry quickly went over to the pupil's side. Once they got closer to her, Draco immediately recognised the black hair and familiar face.

"Skià? Are you okay?" Draco asked. The girl smiled and nodded, though sighed when she looked at the books that were tipped out of her bag onto the floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. They didn't take anything," Skià said, not bothering to question how he knew her name. She bent down to put the books back into her bag. Draco and Harry bent down to help her.

"Here you go," Draco said, handing her a sketchpad.

"Thanks," she said. She gasped as their hands brushed, and her eyes flickered closed. A few seconds later, she opened them and peered at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked as the three of them got off the floor. She continued to look into Draco's eyes. Draco noticed how mysterious they looked. They were a deep brown, but seemed to have a slight red glow to them. You could not read any emotion from them.

"Oh, I'm fine. But you might want to go to that bathroom. It's a girls, but I know that you've been in there before, so that doesn't matter," she said. She smiled, put her bag on the shoulder, and left.

"...I have a feeling we should go to the bathroom," Draco said. Harry nodded. As soon as they entered, Draco clutched his stomach and fell against one of the sinks.

"Merlin, thank goodness we listened to her," he gasped. Harry went into the procedure of words he used to comfort the Slytherin in these times when a voice they both recognised spoke behind them.

"Draco? Harry?" she said happily. Draco spat into the sink for the final time, ran the tap, drank his potion, then turned around to where Harry was facing.

"Oh, hello Myrtle," they both said.

"Why haven't either of you been visiting me?" she asked, pouting.

"We've been really busy, Myrtle. We promise to visit you more," Draco said. Harry nodded in agreement. They thought she was going to start crying, but then she giggled and looked over to the sink Draco had been using.

"Are you dying, Draco?" she asked.

"What? No!" he cried.

"Oh, okay. It's just not a very good sign, coughing up blood like that. Are you very ill?"

"I'm fine, Myrtle. Don't worry about me."

"If you do end up dying you are welcome to share my toilet," she giggled.

"Uh... Thanks, Myrtle. We better get going now. We'll come and see you soon, okay?" Draco said.

"You better," she scowled.

* * *

"It was incredible, wasn't it? With Skià, I mean," Draco said once they were sitting comfortably in their dormitory with their food.

"She could take over Trelawny," Harry replied. Draco laughed.

"Seriously though, do you think that's why that other Slytherin called her a freak?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Draco sighed and leant back in his chair.

"It's really not fair, is it? Being picked on for an incredible ability. You'd think that would make her the most popular girl in seventh year, not the target of bullies."

"Well, some people don't see when they have someone worthy of being friends with when they're right in front of them. Sometimes they choose to make their life harder, no matter what they're like or what they've done. I pity them for the fact that they are missing out," Harry said thoughtfully. He didn't say another word while they ate, neither did Draco. They were content in the peaceful silence.

* * *

Yeah... This failed a bit. I'm not very happy with it. At all.

Leave a review anyway? Please don't complain about my failures of giving you a great chapter though. I have my excuses, you know.

Thank you for reading! The next update will be next Sunday. Hopefully.


	5. Worries and Confessions

**A/N (please read): **Hey, yet again, sorry this is a bit of a shorter chapter. I just wanted to say that I am sorry if my writing ever seems a bit off or I don't post on the Sunday. I am going through a pretty tough time at the moment (no, it's not school) and I'm having times where I just want to give up. I hope you understand, even though I didn't go I into detail.

On a lighter note, I'm pretty sure most of you will like this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 5

* * *

The next seven days were a stressful blur. Every one of their teachers set them huge lengths of homework which they had to spend every night completing, and for Draco, he was getting annoyed very quickly at himself for not being able to produce a Patronus in Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was the same cycle every lesson for him; he would attempt to cast it, a wisp would appear, and he had to stop before the magic would affect him and he would require a trip to the bathroom. He had to go there after every lesson where he performed a lot of magic, because soon enough, it would happen again. He could only hope that he didn't overwork himself to the point that he could not get to the bathroom before anything happened. Severus told him that it should only be like that for another couple of weeks, but it was still hard sometimes for Draco to cope with.

At least he was getting adjusted to the blood, but there were things he couldn't get adjusted to. It was small things at first, like not being able to find his book at the end of lessons, and the ink for his quill strangely disappearing. However, these strange occurrences slowly started to become worse. It seemed to only affect his work at first, but things started to happen to him. It was like the trip jinx all over again. It seemed as though that trip jinx was a warning, in a way.

He would be innocently walking through the corridor with Harry, and something would be cast at him. Hexes, jinxes, nothing too fatal. But the problem was, it was always in the crowds in between lessons, so it wasn't possible to tell who was doing it. And it sure was getting on Draco's last nerve, even though hardly any of them hit. After a while, he had the impression that they weren't really intended to hit him, but more of a way of teasing him.

He was worried about Harry too. What if the spells became worse, more serious, and they hit Harry? Or what if they were after Harry instead of him? It was constantly on his mind. All these worries were starting to get to him a lot, even though he knew they shouldn't, it was dangerous for his health. If this person goal was to cause him misery, they were succeeding, and they hadn't even done anything else that's serious yet.

Harry had suggested they brought this map he had called the "Marauders Map", which to Draco's astonishment, allowed them to see everyone on the map. But the thing was, you couldn't focus on one name when there were dozens of other ones crowding the same part of parchment. The map hadn't helped them one bit so far.

"We'll keep it with us, Draco... It might end up being useful," Harry assured him with.

That was another thing that was currently in Draco's mind. Harry.

Maybe, just maybe, he could ignore his crush if Pansy didn't pester him about telling Harry every single day.

"You've liked him for years, Draco... You can't just keep pretending like you have no feelings for him. It won't work. You need to tell him!"

Turning to Blaise didn't help either; he always simply shrugged his shoulders and say what Pansy said to him was true. Well, it was true, but it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to confess...

"Oh, Harry? After being friends for just over a week thanks to a glorious poison some person who loathes me made, would you consider being my boyfriend?"

No. It just didn't work.

"Come on, he's nice enough not to dislike you or anything if, for some reason, he didn't like you back," Pansy said when Draco told her them very words.

There was also that tiny part of Draco which, like Pansy, believed there was a chance that Harry could possibly like him back. Maybe. But this is what was stopping him from just ignoring it; it was that tiny ray of hope that he could be with Harry. On top of everything else he had to deal with.

Yes, his life wasn't really the best at this current moment in time.

"Draco? Are you alright?" Harry asked in that evening in their bedroom. It was probably at least the tenth time he asked Draco that within the last week.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking," Draco replied. Like the question, this answer was also repetitive.

"Draco, come on. That's what you say every time. Is it about this whole ordeal? Don't worry, I know for sure we're going to find them..."

"No, it's not. Well yeah, it is. Partly."

"Then what else is bothering you?"

"Well... Uh..."

A knock on the door interrupted them. They glanced at one and other before Harry got up and opened the door.

"Mrs Malfoy?" Draco sat up straight away and looked over at the figure walking into the room. Harry slowly shut the door after her.

"Mother? What are you doing here?" Draco asked.

"I came as soon as I got the message. There was some sort of delay, I don't know whether it's to do with my stay in France or not... Oh Draco darling," she said, and she wrapped her arms around her son. Still somewhat in shock, Draco returned the hug.

"I'm fine mother, honestly..."

"I can't believe this has happened to you. You've been through enough as it is, now this..."

"I know, but I'm fine. Harry has helped," said Draco, nodding at Harry. Narcissa smiled and reached out a hand for Harry to shake.

"Thank you. Severus has told me about your caring of Draco. I am very grateful for what you have done for him," she said. Harry smiled and shook her hand.

"It's my pleasure, Mrs Malfoy."

"Please, call me Narcissa," she said. Harry nodded.

"Are you going back to France, mother?" Draco asked.

"Of course not, Draco. I can't go back there with my son in danger like this. No, I am in a room in the dungeons Severus got for me," she explained.

"Oh, I see."

"I am awfully exhausted though, Draco, so I believe it's best for me to head back there now. Oh, and trust me when I say, Draco, that I know everything is going to work out fine with you," she said, and gave him a knowing look. Draco frowned and tilted his head slightly in confusion. To this, Narcissa simply winked at him, and then left the room without another word.

* * *

"Wait, your mother is here in the castle?" Pansy asked at breakfast after Draco explained what had happened that previous night to her and Blaise.

"Yeah, she is. She said she wouldn't want to stay in France with what's been going on with me here," said Draco.

"I don't blame her really. I mean, with you being in danger and all that... Sorry, that doesn't sound very nice at all," Blaise said, but Draco simply chuckled.

"No, it's fine. I'm kind of getting used to that idea, though," he said. He didn't think it was the best idea to tell them just how many worries he had floating around his head at that moment.

"Well, I guess that is good..." Pansy said. "But anyway, you think she suspects that you like him?"

"It seemed liked it."

"Must be a mother's touch I guess," said Blaise, grinning.

"Yeah, it must be. It's still a bit weird though. I mean, I've not even told her I'm gay."

"Well, she's more accepting than your father, isn't she? He cares more about his bloodline, while Narcissa always wants what's best for you," said Pansy.

"Yeah, that's true," responded Draco thoughtfully.

"Wish my mum was like that about people I like..." Blaise mumbled.

* * *

Defence Against the Dark Arts, as it was often, was their first lesson. Draco had spent the rest of breakfast trying to push all of his worries out of his mind as he was determined to cast his Patronus. He knew he would have to achieve it quickly, as this spell drained him faster than a lot of other ones he had to cast in lessons.

"Right, I'm going to do this today. I really am," he muttered, more to himself than Harry, who was standing by his side. The Gryffindor still responded, however.

"I know you can do it, Draco."

Draco took a deep breath and raised his wand.

"Expecto Patronum," he said, and a wisp of the silvery enchantment was cast, though it was not in the form of his Patronus. Draco didn't let this faze him though. He closed his eyes and thought through all of the happy moments he could remember...

_"It's Draco."_

_"What?"_

_"Draco. Not Malfoy. Call me Draco."_

_"Oh, okay. Draco it is."_

Harry...

_"I won't let them hurt you, Draco."_

Harry... That was his happiness. Of course, he loved his mother, Pansy and Blaise. But Harry was different. Harry was... Well, Harry.

"Expecto Patronum!"

This time, it worked. Both him and Harry watched in amazement as the magic formed into the shape of... A doe?

They gasped at the beautiful creature as it stood in front of them. Draco stared at his Patronus, pondering over it... Was it a doe because of Harry's stag? It certainly seemed like it, especially when bowed it's head at Harry. It disappeared however when Professor Lupin's voice called over to him.

"Well done! I knew you'd be able to do it eventually. Oh, is that the time already? Now, I think we'll be able to take these lessons further next time we meet," he said. Draco pocketed his wand and put a hand to his head.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked quickly.

"Yeah, I think so," Draco replied. Harry nodded but was still looking at him. Merlin, why did my Patronus have to be a doe...? And to top things off, there was other matters to deal with...

"Uh, Harry? Bathroom."

* * *

"So... Earlier..." Harry said awkwardly later that day, when they were just about to get into bed. Draco winced; Harry hadn't brought up their lesson up until now.

"Yes?"

"Well... Do you have any idea why it was... You know... A doe?"

"Uh. Well, I don't know. Um... Yeah," Draco winced again when he felt the blush form to his cheeks. He quickly turned away from Harry, hoping he didn't notice.

"What's up? You've been off since that lesson. In fact, you have been for the last week..."

Hang on, he noticed?

"I have been?"

"Yeah, you've been acting a bit... I don't know, different?"

"Um, I didn't realise..."

Harry got up off his bed and walked over to Draco's, the said boy's eyes following him while he walked closer. He sat down next to Draco, and looked him straight into his eyes. _His eyes are so beautiful... No, Draco, this isn't the time._ He scolded himself.

"Draco, what's wrong? I can tell something is up. Did I do anything?" Harry asked.

"No, no you didn't..." Draco sighed.

"Then what is it?"

"It's just... Everything that has been going on, you know? And I'm just worried that they'll try to harm you next."

"Draco, I promise they won't. And I'm going to make sure that they don't hurt you either."

"But... But..."

"But what, Draco?"

"I... I..."

He didn't know what came over him. He didn't know what he was thinking.

He took a deep breath, reached over, and placed his lips on Harry's.

For one magical, wondrous moment, he was sure that Harry was returning the kiss... But then the Gryffindor had pulled away, his eyes wide and his mouth open in shock.

"D-Draco? But... What?" he spluttered. Draco groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Oh god, why did I just do that, please tell me I didn't do that..." he mumbled, his face burning red from embarrassment.

"Draco... Why? Why did you just..." Harry couldn't finish his sentence and he stared down at the blonde who had just kissed him.

"Just... Let's go to bed, okay? We'll talk about this tomorrow..." Draco said, his face still in his hands.

"No, we need to talk about this now, Draco. Do you..." Harry couldn't quite finish his sentence.

"Yes, alright, I like you!" Draco exclaimed, suddenly sat upright, his face scarlet. Harry stared at him in surprise, even though that was what he was about to ask, it was still strange for him to hear that it was true... "I've liked you since we first met, okay? Why do you think I would randomly start talking to you, trying to impress you? I mean, no offence of course, but you weren't exactly dressed expensively or anything. There was just something about you... It was something I felt before I knew you were Harry Potter. I went at it the wrong way of course, you can blame my upbringing for that, so it was no surprise you didn't accept my offer of friendship. So what did I do? I ignored my little crush, thinking that's all it was, and became your enemy instead. At least I would be able to get your attention out of that, rather than getting nothing. But I know it was wrong, it was all wrong... But I'm so, so sorry about all of this... I know you can't possibly like me this way, and I accept that. I wish you all the best with the lucky girl who will have you."

Harry stared at him, stunned. Silence fell on the room for several minutes before he spoke.

"I-I don't know what to say, Draco..."

"Don't say anything. Let's go to bed."

"But..."

"No. I can't deal with this right now." Harry sighed and got up off Draco's bed. Immediately after, the curtains were closed. He walked over to his own bed, his mind filled with confusion over what just happened.

* * *

"Uh, Hermione?"

"Harry? It's not like you to be this early."

The next morning, Harry walked down to the common room a lot earlier than usual. He could not recall sleeping that night.

"I know, but it's just..."

"What's up, Harry? Sit down," said Hermione. Harry nodded and sat down in the chair besides her.

"Well, it's just that... You know Draco?"

"Yes."

"Well, last night he sort of well... Uh... He kissed me."

He was surprised at the lack of shock on Hermione's face. She simply nodded.

"Anything else?"

"He said this whole long speech about how he's liked me since we were eleven," Harry said. "He didn't let me say anything else after that, though. He seemed very embarrassed."

"Well, naturally he would be. I recommend you go back upstairs and talk to him once he's awake," said Hermione.

"But it's not that simple though! I mean... I can't stop thinking about it. The kiss, I mean. It was really short, I pulled away obviously, but there was just... That spark. The sort I've never felt before," he confessed. Yet again, Hermione didn't look a bit shocked.

"You must like him back, then," she said simply.

"W-what? No! I can't..."

"Why not?"

"We're... We're enemies!"

"Not anymore, you're not. Can you imagine yourself being with him?"

"...Perhaps."

"Harry, go back upstairs, and tell him that."

There was a pause, before Harry grinned and hugged her.

"Thanks Hermione."

"No problem, Harry."

His smile grew and he raced up the stairs, and bumped into Ron.

"Oh god, sorry Ron," Harry apologised.

"It's fine mate. Is Hermione downstairs?" he asked.

"Yeah, she is."

Ron smiled and went down the steps. Harry sighed in relief at Ron not overhearing them and climbed the next set of stairs. He burst into their room, where Draco was just getting out of bed.

"Draco."

"Oh, uh, Harry... I'm just going to the bathroom..." he said awkwardly, making his way to the door.

"Oh no you're not," muttered Harry under his breath. He quickly raced over to Draco, pinned him to the wall behind them, and before he could respond, Harry kissed him. This time, there was a response.

* * *

Please leave a review! It's always nice to read your thoughts on this story. Thank you for reading!


	6. New Discoveries

**A/N: **Welcome to your Sunday chapter! I doubt this makes your Sunday however. I try darlings, I try.

I am no longer going through a tough time (not as much, anyway), though most of you probably didn't even read that aha. If I remember to not leave most of this story to the weekend, then those longer chapters shall return. Go me!

Enjoy the chapter, wonderful readers.

**Please remember that I do know what they learn in third year Transfiguration. If you haven't yet guessed, this story doesn't fully stick to the facts. It is fanfiction, after all.**

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 6

* * *

Draco heard Harry shuffling around early the next morning, and the door shutting quietly. Why was he leaving? Did he suddenly forget that Harry needed to be by his side?

He sighed and sat up in his bed. He didn't blame Harry at all, in all honesty. What on Earth was he thinking, kissing him like he did and blurting out all of his emotions? It was completely the wrong way to go...

Draco sighed once more before pulling his curtain across rand getting out of his bed. He picked up his school uniform and headed to the bathroom, but then...

"Draco."

He had not heard the door open and Harry enter the room. He turned to face him, and immediately felt the familiar heat returning to his face.

"Oh, uh, Harry... I'm just going to the bathroom..." said Draco. He turned away from Harry and started to walk to the bathroom. He wasn't ready for whatever Harry had to say about what happened the previous night. Though, when his arm was grabbed and he was turned around, he could tell that Harry clearly was ready to talk about it. Or so he thought, anyway. Harry didn't have words in mind.

Harry pushed him by his wrists, somehow not in an aggressive way, into the wall behind them. Before Draco had a moment to speak, or even respond in any way, the lips of Harry were pressed against his own. His grey eyes widened tremendously, and he simply stood there for a few seconds, stunned. It was all so much for him to handle... Harry, kissing him. He didn't bother questioning it though, at least at this moment, he just felt a wash of lust, a need for Harry like he never felt before. So he kissed back. Harry moaned at this and released Draco's wrists to put an around his waist. Since when did Harry get so tall? Draco had always been tall, but now the other boy was at least an inch or two taller than him...

He could hardly believe what was happening. A heart-warming feeling flowed through his body, making him shiver, as he put his hand into Harry's hair. Curiously, Harry's tongue crept into Draco's mouth, earning a deep moan of pleasure from the blonde. Draco needed answers, that was a fact, but he was feeling so wonderful... His own tongue slid across Harry's and... _Merlin, _it felt wonderous.

Eventually though, Harry had gently pulled away, and even though he was disappointed, he still had that warm feeling. It was... Relaxing.

"Wow..." he said breathlessly. Harry grinned shyly and brushed a hand through his messy hair. "Why... Do you...?" Draco couldn't finish his words.

"Yeah, I do. I was confused, I had to admit, but I talked to Hermione and-"

"You talked to Granger? Oh Merlin, Weasley wasn't there was he?" asked Draco panicked.

"No, of course not," said Harry quickly. "I just needed someone to talk to... So I went down to the common room as she normally wakes up early. I hope you don't mind..."

"No, I don't. It's completely understandable. I don't mind you telling her. It's just that I know how Weasley would react if you told him. He can barely take us being friends, never mind boyfriends."

The word 'boyfriends' sent another shiver down his spine, and he felt strangely drawn to Harry after he said it. Was it normal to be in love with someone this way?

"He'd probably have a heart attack, knowing Ron. And... Boyfriends?" Harry questioned, with a raised eyebrow. Draco blushed and his gaze dropped to his feet.

"Well... Y-you did kiss me after all... It's fine if you want to stay friends. I mean, it's better than nothing... Though I do like you a lot..." he babbled. Harry chuckled and gently took Draco's hand in his own. The Slytherin felt that spark going through his skin once again.

"I like the thought of us together, Draco. That's what I told Hermione," said Harry. Draco smiled joyfully at his words, but it dropped slightly when he thought of the danger he could put Harry in from being his boyfriend. It was dangerous enough just being friends.

"But... But isn't it dangerous? With what's been going on with me? And what about people's reactions?" he asked.

"I personally wouldn't mind what people would say, apart from Ron, but that's just me. But if it really worries you about these people, then we could always just remain secret for now until this passes over." Harry suggested. Draco nodded in agreement.

"I'd... I'd like that. Thank you."

"No need to thank me, ha ha. We better start to get ready if we are going to get to breakfast on time." Harry said. Draco nodded, and kissed Harry lightly on the cheek before entering the bathroom.

* * *

Their first lesson that next morning was Transfiguration. Draco was rather relieved to head over there; Pansy had not shut up all through breakfast about "Draco's new boyfriend". Blaise was happy for him too, but he showed it in less of an excitable way. Pansy, however, had let out a massive squeal of joy which made several heads turn in their direction. He was slowly starting to regret telling them, but erased the thought when he told himself that she was just extremely happy for him and she would be more quiet about it after a while.

Harry, on the other hand, didn't need to even show any sign to Hermione about what happened and didn't have a reaction either, never mind a squeal of joy (though squealing was not exactly a habit of Hermione). She simply gave him a slower nod in greeting than she usually did, with a knowing look in her eyes. Ron didn't notice a thing, though he did mention that Harry looked rather happier that morning. He said he simply woke up feeling great, which was enough for Ron. Harry knew that eventually, he was going to have to tell his friend, but for know he knew it was for the best to keep it quiet. If Draco wanted to keep it a secret, then that's what they would do.

The pair of them sat down at their desk in the Transfiguration classroom, which was at the back in between Pansy and Hermione's and Goyle and Ron's. After a couple of whispers to each other, the two girls glanced at Harry and Draco, then smiled at each other. Their gaze, as well as everyone else's, moved back to the front of the classroom when Professor Shadow coughed to get there attention.

"As we have finished with our recap of previous work you have completed in the past, we'll now be moving onto our first topic of this year. I'm pretty sure most of you will enjoy this topic, it was always one of my favourites when I was in school," she said, smiling. She took her wand out from the pocket of her robes and pointed it at the chalkboard. With a flick, she wrote the word "Animagi". A few excitable whispers scattered around the classroom.

"Yes, I know that as this isn't something that must be done by a spell and isn't actually Transfiguration, but this is the best lesson that you can do it in... I'm pretty sure that you all already know at least the basic facts about it. Start me off, then... What is an Animagus?"

Straight away, the majority of hands in the class were raised.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"An Animagus is a witch or wizard who can morph themselves into the form of an animal at will," said Hermione.

"Yes, that is correct. 5 points to Gryffindor. So, I want you all to read the introduction of Animagi in your textbooks. After that, we will discuss what you have read."

* * *

"Don't forget, your homework is to write a small essay on what you know about Animagi, and how you describe the transformation I made into my wolf form," Professor Shadow called over the noise of the students packing their bags. "Mister Malfoy, could I have a quick word please?"

Draco nodded at Harry to come with him, and the two walked over to her desk at the front of the classroom.

"What's the matter, Professor?" Draco asked.

"Professor Snape wanted me to tell you that he requests that you meet him, your mother, and Madam Pomfrey in the infirmary next period. I know that you have a free lesson, but that's what he says... You probably have to go too, Mister Potter," she said.

"Alright, thank you Professor," said Draco.

"On another note, Skià told me about the two of you..." she chuckled when Harry and Draco looked at each other with puzzled expressions. "She brushed past you in the corridor yesterday and had a vision of the two of you. It's an incredible ability she has, it's too bad that many people see it as something strange, rather than a talent," she sighed.

"Do you know about how some... How some students have been acting with her?" Harry asked. The Professor sighed again and nodded, a sad look in her eyes.

"Yes, I do. I've had a very sharp word with them too. I had to take points from my old house too. She can stand up for herself, but she says she never feels the need to with people like them."

"At least she doesn't seem too upset with them..." said Draco. Professor Shadow smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, that is true. Anyway, you two better be off to Professor Snape. I know how he doesn't like to be kept waiting," she said. Draco and Harry said their goodbyes and were in the doorway when she spoke again. "Oh, and Draco? Be careful."

"Don't worry, I will be," said the blonde.

"Alright, good. Just making sure. Don't forget your homework, boys."

* * *

"Oh, there you are, Draco. Where have you been?" Professor Snape asked when the two students entered the infirmary. Narcissa gave her son a squeeze on his shoulder, smiling softly.

"Sorry, we got caught up with Professor Shadow..." his godson explained, though he wasn't listening properly.

"The three of us have been talking about further possible reasons and solutions about your current situation. The thing is, after more research into this, we have come to realise that even with the strong antidote you consumed with your dinner, from the strength of the mixed poisons, you would have still ended up in a coma, for how long, we don't know. We've talked about a few suggestions, and we've narrowed it down to one possibility which seems the most realistic..."

"Oh? What is it?" asked Draco. Severus nodded at Narcissa to continue.

"Well, one thing that is possible Draco, is that you have a fraction of Veela blood in your veins."

Draco laughed, thinking it was a joke, but then he saw the unamused expressions of the adults' faces.

"You're not kidding."

"Of course we're not, Draco," said his mother. "The majority of pure-blooded family lines have some trace of Veela blood. Any other creature would seem as a disgrace to the more traditional families, but it is actually an honour to have Veela blood, as it is so much more rare and more sacred."

"So... I'm part Veela?" he asked slowly.

"Yes, almost certainly. About a quarter, like that Fleur Delacour. Perhaps even a third."

"But, what has that got to do with what has happened recently?" questioned Harry.

"Veela blood is quite powerful. It seems as though it has somehow provided some protection to the poisons Draco has consumed, preventing them from harming him as much as they could have done," explained Narcissa.

"There's also a possibility that it could help cure you... Draco, have you been taking those antidotes I gave to you?" Severus asked. Draco slapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head slowly.

"No, I haven't. Not for the last couple of days. Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry..." said Draco. Severus didn't seem mad though, he only looked at him thoughtfully.

"The last couple of days? Have you been feeling any different than you were?"

"No, I haven't. I've been the same than I was before I stopped taking them. In fact, it hasn't been as bad... I didn't even have anything wrong with me last night or this morning..."

"So, that must prove that something has happened that makes you not need to take the antidotes to prevent further effects from the poisons. We just need to figure out what that is."

A silence fell on the room.

"You have a mate." said Narcissa suddenly.

"Uh, pardon?" said Draco.

"You have a mate," she repeated. "I mean the sort that magical creatures have. Veela are more drawn to them, even if they are only partly Veela. Any contact with their mate will make them feel automatically lustful and it reacts with the Veela blood, which could mean that you get no reactions from the poison, if you understand me."

"That's... Rather interesting. But how could that have happened to me when I don't even know who my mate is?" asked Draco.

"You don't have to know them. But I have a feeling that you have an idea of who it may be. After all, you don't have contact with that many people. I know what you're like," she replied, and her knowing look returned in her eyes. Draco raised one eyebrow at her, then quickly averted his eyes from her to Harry. She nodded when his eyes were back on her.

"What? No... No way."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"You always went on about him. I can tell something has happened between you both recently. It makes sense, Draco."

"Oh Salazar..." groaned Severus, and placed his head in his hand.

"My goodness," said Poppy simply.

"What? What's up?" Harry asked, looking back and to from Severus and Poppy, confused.

"Of all people? Really?" muttered Severus, ignoring Harry.

"Oh come on, who else has he liked in his life? No one, that is who!" said Narcissa.

"I'm still here, you know," Draco said, though he didn't look annoyed in the slightest. "So he's my mate?"

"It seems so. What have you both been up to, then?" said Narcissa with a wink.

"Who? Who is your mate?" asked Harry, still confused. Draco laughed and patted Harry's shoulder.

"You've still not caught on? It's you."

"W-what?"

"Oh Salazar... Give me strength," Severus muttered, his head still placed in his hand.

"I've not felt as bad since we've started getting closer, and since I... Since I kissed you last night..." he ignored Severus' groan. "...I haven't felt any worse than I did before what happened in Potions, and I haven't coughed up blood or anything like that."

"Oh... Wow. Okay," said Harry, stunned. "So... So we are sort of... Made for each other? If I'm your mate? Help me out here. I'm trying to get used to this idea."

"Yes, you both are, in a way. In fact, it's actually extremely risky for either of you to have sexual interaction with other people. Draco could no longer see any reason to live if you went with anyone else, Harry, and Draco, you would automatically become ill and become worse as time continues," Narcissa explained. Draco gulped, but Harry simply shrugged.

"I don't see any reason to be with someone else," he said, and to those loving words, Draco's heart melted.

* * *

Draco lay awake that night, though this time it wasn't due to worry. That evening in their dormitory had been one of the best moments of his life. After they had spent a little time with their friends in the common room, they moved on to completing their homework hand-in-hand. It was simple, yet the warm sensation he felt through the connected hands made it feel like much more.

"Draco, are you awake?" a voice called softly.

"Yes."

Harry chuckled and he heard the sounds of curtains being drawn before the Gryffindor was standing above Draco.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. Draco shook his head. Harry smiled slightly, before nudging Draco across and climbing into bed besides him.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Lying next to you."

"Fair enough," Draco chuckled. He rested his head on Harry's chest. The raven-haired boy smiled, running his fingers through the platinum-blonde locks. He kissed the top of Draco's head softly.

"This feels so natural, you know. It's hard to believe, but it does," he said.

"This is all I ever wanted," Draco smiled. His eyes slowly began to close, and he fell asleep right in Harry's arms.

* * *

N'aww, isn't that sweet?

Please take a minute to click that lil' button and leave a review, especially if you haven't done so already! I'll give you a virtual cookie if you do. Also, if you have any suggestions of things you want see in this story, do not hesitate to let me know! I may just use it.

I will do my best to make the next chapter longer!

Until next Sunday, goodbye!


	7. Getting Closer

**A/N: **WOW! Could this be an early update?!

I have fallen pretty ill recently so due to boredom of me having to stay in bed all day, I worked on this a bit more than usual. I thought I might as well post it tonight once I finished it. Don't expect this all the time, though! Unless I get a TON of reviews... Then I may be motivated.

Anyway, enjoy the chapters, darlings!

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 7

* * *

Draco's eyes fluttered open slowly. He blinked at the morning brightness in the room, his eyes still wide open, and reached for his wand. He froze when he felt an arm he had not noticed earlier held onto him tighter, but then relaxed when he remembered who it was. It was unbelievable, to be there in his arms, after such a long time of waiting... And to know that they would be together, forever? As cheesy as it sounded in his head, he could hardly believe his luck. Thank Merlin for the Veela blood in his family.

Draco smiled as he looked at the sleeping face of his lover. He raised a hand to the boy's head and gently brushed back the raven locks. The corners of Harry's mouth twitched upwards, and his emerald eyes slowly opened.

"Good morning," said Draco, still stroking Harry's hair.

"Morning," replied the Gryffindor. He yawned and sat up. Draco peered up at him, and pouted playfully.

"You're abandoning me."

Harry laughed and pulled Draco upright so he was sitting besides him. Harry took Draco's hand in his, raised it to his lips, and kisses it softly.

"Better?" asked Harry, lowering their hands down so they rested on the green bed sheets.

"Much better," Draco chuckled. Harry did so as well, then they both fell silent as they caught one another's eyes. Draco blushed and lowered his head so he was looking down at the bed. Harry, in a gentle motion, moved his hand under Draco's chin, raised his head up, and pressed their lips together. It was only a small kiss, but it was still beautiful. Draco sighed and wrapped his arms around Harry, bringing them even closer together.

"I am so happy when I'm with you like this," he whispered. Harry smiled and kissed the top of Draco's head softly.

"I am too."

They stayed in each other's arms for a few blissful, silent moments, both content with simply staying there. They both sighed a little when there was a knocking on the door.

"Harry, mate? Are you awake?" called the voice of Ron.

"Yeah, give me a minute," Harry called back. He quickly kissed Draco on the cheek before climbing out of the bed and making his way over to the door. He unlocked it and smiled at his friend.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if you are still up for coming to the library with me and Hermione? We haven't spent a lot of time together, and you did say yesterday morning that you would come..."

"Oh, uh..." he glanced over at Draco, who was getting his clothes together in an attempt to seem as though he wasn't interested in the Gryffindors' conversation, but clearly listening to what they were saying. "Yeah, I said I was going to come down to the common room and meet you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you were, but you said you would meet us at 11:00. It's now 11:45."

"Oh... Sorry Ron. But maybe you should both go without me. I need to stay with Draco after all..." Harry looked back over at Draco, who wasn't trying to pretend he wasn't overhearing anymore.

"But he can go with Parkinson and Zabini, can't he?"

"Well, not particularly... Snape did say I had to stay with him at all times."

Ron didn't look too pleased with this. He turned around and started to head back out of the doorway.

"Well, if you can't take the time to be with your friends..."

"He could come with us?" blurted Harry. Ron paused and turned back around, raising one ginger eyebrow.

"What?"

"I will still be with him, and I could still spend time with you and Hermione. It makes sense, really."

Ron paused, staring at Harry. Then he sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess it's okay if he doesn't start anything. And I'll have to make sure Hermione is alright with it."

"I'm sure she will be," Harry beamed.

"And don't worry Weasley, I'll be on my best behaviour," added Draco with a wink.

"Right... Well, I'll leave you two to get ready, then. Hermione and I will be waiting in the common room for you."

"See you later, Ron."

"See you."

Ron walked back out of the room and shut the door behind him. Harry burst out laughing as soon as he could no longer hear his friend's footsteps.

"That was pretty hilarious."

"Yes, quite. But what makes you think that I actually want to go to the library with Weasley and Granger?" questioned Draco.

"I know that you love me enough to be able to put up with being in the presence of Ron and Hermione to be in my glorious presence," said Harry simply.

"Yes, I guess that is rather true," chuckled Draco.

* * *

About fifthteen minutes later, the two boys were making their way down the stairs into the common room. It was pretty full; mainly of students who were completing their several pieces of homework. Pansy and Blaise smiled at Draco as he passed them, and have him a curious look when they saw him head over with Harry to where Ron and Hermione were sitting, waiting for them. Draco shrugged and gave his two friends a smirk. As Draco and Harry approached, Ron and Hermione looked up and heaved themselves off the sofa they were sitting on.

"Good morning. Or shall I say, afternoon. Having a lie-in, were you both?" said Hermione, looking back and to from Harry to Draco.

"Yes, yes we were," said Harry.

"Late night?" she questioned with a slight smirk.

"Um, yes?"

"I see. Well, shall we head off, then?"

The three boys nodded, and they exited the common room. Ron and Hermione were walking slightly in front of them. Ron kept sneaking glances behind him at Draco and Harry, but when Hermione took Ron's hand in hers, the glances stopped and his gaze was at his girlfriend instead as they started a conversation Draco and Harry couldn't quite hear.

"I wish we could do that openly," muttered Draco to Harry.

"Do what?"

"Hold hands."

"Ah. Me too," said Harry. He sighed and grinned slightly. "We've got plenty of time to do that in the future, though."

"I am looking forward to when that will be possible," said Draco softly, smiling slightly at the wondrous thought of going on dates, romantic dinners, living together...

"I don't blame you. I am incredibly irresistible after all..."

Draco laughed and gave him a little shove.

"Bitch please, I'm the one whose part Veela here. If anyone is irresistible out of us two, it's me..." chuckled Draco, and he put his hand on his chest and raised his head in a smug manner. Harry laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Fair enough. By the way, this may seem pretty irrelevant to our conversation right now, have you noticed that there hasn't been any hexes or jinxes or anything being thrown at you recently?" Harry questioned. Draco pondered the thought and nodded slowly.

"You're right. Maybe they're getting a bit bored. I must admit, things are generally better now that I have less things to worry about. I shouldn't say that though, something awful would happen if nothing is happening right now," Draco laughed, though he didn't find it very amusing. Harry noticed this and placed a hand firmly on Draco's shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. They both stopped walking and stayed in that position in the centre of the corridor.

"I'm not going to let anything awful happen, okay? We're going to find whoever did this before anything like that can happen," he said, a very serious expression on his face. He said it so convincingly, that Draco felt as though there were no worries in the world that were his.

"Come on you two, you're falling behind!" called Ron from the end of the corridor, just outside of the library.

"We're coming!" Harry called back. He quickly turned to Draco once more and whispered;

"I promise."

Draco smiled at him, feeling a rush of love for his mate all over again. After one last squeeze of Draco's shoulder, the two boys walked hurriedly to the library to meet back up with Ron and Hermione.

* * *

"Wouldn't it be amazing to be an Animagus?" sighed Ron dreamily as the four of them started their Tranfiguration essay. Well, three of them start; Hermione had already wrote over half of hers.

"Yeah, it would be," Harry agreed.

"We could be like your dad and Sirius. It would be awesome!" Ron exclaimed. Harry smiled.

"Severus told me about your father and Sirius were Animagi. That's pretty spectacular," Draco commented.

"Severus? Why do you call Snape Severus?" Ron questioned.

"Because he's my godfather."

"Oh. I can see the resemblance..."

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded, but Draco merely laughed.

"It wouldn't surprise me. I'm sure I had more fatherly love from him than I did from my real father."

"How do you feel about Lucius? I mean, with him being in Azkaban and all?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I don't have many feelings about it really. It's what he deserves in my opinion. He had the chance to switch sides with me and my mother, yet he didn't. I don't blame the Ministry for putting him in Azkaban," said Draco truthfully. Hermione smiled and nodded in understanding before she continued to write her essay. He noticed Ron giving him a look with a lot more liking than usual.

"I am so hungry," Harry complained.

"That's probably because you missed breakfast," Hermione pointed out, looking back up from her essay.

"Here..." said Draco quietly, and muttered a spell which conjured a sandwich.

"Draco, we're in the library!" Harry hissed. Draco shrugged and smirked in a Slytherin like manner.

"So? It's not like you've never broken rules before. Your back is to Madam Pince anyway, plus she isn't even looking this way; she's too absorbed in that book she's reading."

"You do have a point there. Mufflato!" Harry whispered so the librarian wouldn't hethe him eating, then took the sandwich. Ron eyed it hungrily.

"I'm pretty hungry too, you know..." he hinted. Draco chuckled, then conjured him a rather large chicken drumstick. Ron took it, and raised an eyebrow at Draco.

"How do you know I like chicken?" he questioned. Draco chuckled to himself, knowing that the answer of continuous stares at his future lover sitting by his ginger friend would not be a good reason to say, as true as it may be.

"Oh, maybe I just noticed after constant glares me and Harry used to exchange. Just a guess there."

Ron actually grinned at Draco's words. He looked over at Madam Pince to make sure she wasn't looking over, then started happily eating his chicken.

"Anything for you, Granger?" Draco offered. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm fine, thank you Draco."

Harry simply sat there smiling while Draco was talking to Ron and Hermione. A part of him was a little concerned earlier at the thought of them arguing and it all ended with Harry falling out with his two best friends, but it went in the opposite direction instead. Perhaps when it came to confessing to Ron, it wouldn't be so hard if him and Draco could start getting along well.

* * *

Draco smiled sadly at Harry once they entered the Great Hall for their dinner, one of the few times they weren't together. It seemed silly to Draco that he felt as though he would miss his partner deeply for just twenty minutes at the most, but he couldn't help it. Harry knew of this and smiled back.

"See you soon, Draco," he said, and the two boys parted ways to their tables. Draco sat in his usual seat opposite Pansy and Blaise, who had both looked up and greeted him when they saw him heading closer to their seats.

"I have something else to tell you about Harry and I," Draco said.

"Have you both had sex?" Blaise smirked. Pansy slapped him hard across the back off his head, then smiled sweetly at Draco.

"SHIT! That hurt, Pansy!" Blaise said, rubbing the part where Pansy had hit him.

"What is it, Draco?" Pansy asked, ignoring Blaise completely.

"Well, I'm just going to go straight to the point and announce to you both that I am part Veela and Harry is my mate," he said. Pansy let out a little squeal, while Blaise simply sat there stunned, no longer bothered about his painful head.

"Really? That is pretty awesome! And also cute... Aw. I was spot on when I said things were definitely going to work out for you both!" said Pansy gleefully, her hands put together.

"That's quite impressive, Draco," said Blaise.

"Yes, it is. And no need for a 'I told you so', Pansy. But, because of this Veela blood, and Harry and I having more... Uh... Sexual contact, I haven't been getting affected by any of the poison's effects! Plus, this person hasn't been casting any hexes or anything at the moment as well, so everything has been okay at the moment," Draco said happily.

"That is amazing! You might want to stay with Harry still, though. It still isn't a good idea to wander around on your own, just in case they are planning anything else," Pansy said, with Blaise nodding in agreement.

"Oh, I know. I wasn't planning on that," Draco said. "But I have a feeling that Harry and I are going to find out who has done this. Pretty soon, in fact."

* * *

It was a huge relief for Draco when he met up with Harry outside the Great Hall after the feast. Even though it was a short space of time, Draco still felt a need to be back by Harry's side.

"You really did miss me, didn't you?" Harry whispered, grinning.

"Of course I did. Could we maybe go for a little walk before we go back to our tower? I feel like stretching my legs."

"Yeah, sure we can."

They exchanged a smile before walking through the corridors, which were slowly becoming less crowded. After about ten minutes of walking, they entered an empty corridor. Harry reached for Draco's hand and held it in his own, silently. Draco smiled softly. No words were needed.

They continued to walk, their footsteps in sync, their hands together. It occurred to Draco how beautiful the gesture of holding hands was; it was so simple, yet it was so loving as well. He could not have been happier. Suddenly, Harry slowed down to a stop. Draco peered at him curiously, and opened his mouth to speak, but Harry's finger was on his lips before any words were spoken. The hand made it's way to under Draco's chin, where it had been that morning. Draco wrapped his hands around Harry's neck and pulled him down to his lips. Draco moaned as they met, an explosion of emotions rushing through his body. He was pushed slightly into the wall behind them, as the kiss deepened. Draco let out a moan of pleasure once more when he felt Harry's tongue enter his mouth. His body and mind felt lighter, it was pure heaven, being here with Harry...

Draco gasped for breath when Harry had separated their lips. His mouth went to Draco's neck instead, and he started to kiss a trail down towards his shoulders. Draco sighed and relaxed against Harry, in bliss. Harry kissed the area near Draco's, collarbone, the blonde shuddered, and Harry grinned, knowing he had found Draco's sensitive spot. He kissed it once more before once again placing his lips on Draco's. This time, though, Harry's hands made their way to the buttons of Draco's shirt. He froze, his body wanting more, his mind wanting more... Then he felt the heat rushing in a certain part of his lower body. He blushed furiously, hoping that Harry didn't notice, but even if he did, he didn't care. He was now in the process of undoing Draco's second button, and...

"Harry? Draco?" a female voice called from further down the corridor. Blushing heavily, they sprung apart from one another, trying to act as though nothing had happened. They both sighed in relief and relaxed when they saw it was only Skià.

"Oh, hello Skià," they said.

"I just wanted to say that I am happy for you both. You both deserve to have each other."

"Thank you very much," Harry said.

"Yes, thank you. We appreciate it," Draco added.

"It's my pleasure," she said, smiling. She started to turn away from them, but then stopped. "Speaking of pleasure, you may want to do that someone that's not a corridor. Anyone could come by and see you," she said with a wink, and walked away before she received a reply.

* * *

"We're lucky it was her that came across us, rather than someone else," Harry said once they made it back to their dormitory.

"Yeah, we better not do that again... Not what we did. I mean where we did it," Draco babbled. Harry laughed and patted him on the head.

"You really are adorable when you babble like that, you know," he said before walking into the bathroom. Draco blushed slightly and looked down at his feet, cursing himself for having skin which blushed so easily.

He looked back up from his feet, and let out a loud and shocked scream. There was a sound of rushed footsteps as Harry burst out from the bathroom, looking round the room wildly.

"Draco, what is it?" he asked hurriedly.

"It's a... Look! It's huge!" Draco said, pointing to the floor and backing up towards his bed. Harry looked down at where his was pointing to a rather larger spider scuttling across the carpet. Harry sighed in relief and put a hand over his chest.

"Oh thank Merlin. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Kill it! I can't stand them!"

"Alright, alright..."

Harry attempted to stomp on the spider, but his attempts only made him look a bit stupid as he completely missed and the spider had crawled quickly under the door.

"It's gone now, Draco. It went under the door."

"It better not come back. I can't stand those things," Draco shuddered.

"You're like Ron. He's scared of them too. I wonder what you'll be like getting chased by gigantic spiders the same size of you."

"Please don't give me that thought," Draco pleaded.

"Already did. Whose bed are we sleeping in tonight?"

"Yours. Even with those hideous crimson sheets."

"Shut up, you git. Come on, let's get to sleep."

Draco certainly had no objections to sleeping once more with Harry. Smiling widely, he quickly leapt in besides Harry. It didn't take him long at all to fall asleep.

* * *

Damn you Skià, damn you.

In a way I'm saying damn you to myself if she is based off me. What.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, my amazing readers! I am pretty sure that the next chapter will be quite longer than they have been! We're making our way to the main part of the story, mwahaha...

By the way, I am thinking of making a South Park fanfic too (most likely a Creek one). Why bother saying this? Because I can't really start it after this has finished because I am going to be making ANOTHER Drarry story which is going to be very long, if I do it right. So if I do start this SP fanfic, it will be while I'm writing this, which means the updates for this may take longer. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I am off! I need sleep to get better. *cries*


	8. Interruption

Hello!

I'm sorry if there are quite a few mistakes in this. It's getting pretty late where I live so I needed to get this posted quickly!

Enjoy!

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 8

* * *

Rain flooded down on the top of the tower that night, and splattered on the glass of the window. Thunder rumbled loudly, and flashes of lightning was visible through the dark grey clouds.

It was 5:00am. Yet Draco was awake. These storms always reminded him of the time he spent in the Malfoy manor, accompanied by the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. He shuddered and sat up. It was hard to sleep with those thoughts going through your head and the sound of a heavy storm outside your window.

"Can't sleep?"

Harry's voice startled him slightly. He had thought the Gryffindor had been asleep.

"No. I hate storms," Draco confessed.

"Haven't you thought of using a charm?" Harry asked. From the embarrassed look on Draco's face, his question had been answered. He picked up his wand from the bedside counter and cast a spell, from which, the noises of the nature outside could not be heard.

"Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you. I guess I was too tired to think of that."

"You're welcome. Have you been up most of the night?"

"No, not really. Only for a about an hour or so."

"I see. Well, we better get a couple of hours sleep before we have to get up."

Draco nodded and laid back down besides Harry, who wrapped an arm around Draco's waist. Draco smiled and snuggled into Harry, knowing that he wouldn't have any more trouble sleeping now...

* * *

"DRACO! Wake up! Come on, wake up!"

Draco bolted upwards, his heart pounding at the yelling of Harry's voice. Before his eyes had any time to adjust, his school uniform was thrown in his direction. He caught it, startled.

"Bloody hell, Harry! What's the matter?" he asked as he watched him rush around the room, hurriedly getting his things together.

"Breakfast is going to be over in ten minutes! We've overslept again!"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake..." sighed Draco, and he quickly changed into the clothes thrown at him. They raced out of their room and down the two sets of stairs, to the empty common room.

"Who's marvellous idea was it to make these towers so high?" Draco complained as they descended the grand amount of steps. After a few minutes of fast walking, luckily they were both tall, they made it to the Great Hall. All eyes fell on them when they entered, obviously curious to why they were both rather late. They nodded their goodbyes and hurried to their tables, where both groups of friends were looking at them were looking at them with confusion.

"Would you please inform as to why you and your beloved are late for breakfast? You're going to have to pull of some rather fast speed eating. We only have five minutes," said Pansy.

"Were you two a bit too busy again and didn't realise the time?" asked Blaise with a wink. A deadly look from Pansy made him mutter an apology and carry on eating silently.

"We just overslept again. We keep forgetting to use our alarm. And do you mind not calling him my "beloved" in a not-so-quiet voice in public, please?"

"Oh, I am so sorry, Draco..." she said, but the smirk on her face showed that she wasn't sorry at all. What a surprise... Draco thought to himself. He wasn't annoyed, though. He preferred this Pansy to the one who used to bully Hermione. Speaking of which...

"Do you still like Hermione?" he asked before he could stop himself. Pansy's eyes widened and she mouthed 'no' at him. Blaise stared at them both, clearly a little stunned.

"Granger? You like Granger?"

She laughed and shook her head.

"No, I don't. I used to, but once I realised she had fallen for Ron Weasley I just forgot about her. It was only a small crush anyway," she explained.

"Oh, I see..." said Blaise.

"Oh, everyone is leaving. We better get going, then," said Draco as he started to rise out of his seat. Pansy looked rather relieved at this escape from going further into her old crush and didn't take her time in getting out of her chair. Blaise was soon to follow, and Draco could not help but notice that Blaise kept taking glances at her as the three of them made their way to the exit of the Great Hall, where Harry was waiting for him, with Ron and Hermione by his side.

* * *

"Bloody hell, Harry! You've been oversleeping for the last two days! Is anything up with you?" questioned Ron as Harry sat down across from his two friends. Harry shrugged as he grabbed a piece of toast and put it on his plate.

"Perhaps it's what has kept him up, rather than having something wrong with him," suggested Hermione. Harry saw the way her eyes glanced into his for that brief second, and he almost laughed at the thought that Hermione seemed thoroughly convinced that they both were, putting it nicely, 'up to things', every night instead of actually sleeping. When on Earth did Hermione become like that? Unless she was just teasing Harry. That was probably it.

"What? You mean homework or something? asked Ron.

"Yes, yes of course that is what I mean. What else?"

"I don't know."

"Is that what it is, mate? If so, you could start doing your work with Hermione and I. We do it in each other's rooms when Goyle and Parkinson aren't there, or sometimes in the common room. You can bring Malfoy along if you need to," suggested Ron.

"Oh, I'll be happy to work with you guys some time. But it isn't that. We've just been forgetting to set the alarm, that's all," Harry told them.

"Oh, alright," said Ron.

"You really should remember more, Harry. I don't think Professor Snape would be very kind to you if you were late for Potions because you forgot to set an alarm," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true," replied Harry, wincing slightly at the mention of Potions. The memory of the first evening of the year still made him cringe. He never would have expected the year to turn out this way.

"It's time for our lesson now, guys," said Ron when he noticed people starting to leave.

"I better wait here and meet Draco then..." said Harry as they stood at the exit.

"Does it really have to be on the way to all of our lessons too? I'm sure Parkinson and Zabini are alright keeping an eye out for that five minutes," said Ron.

"Um, well, the thing is..." Ron and Hermione both looked at him to go on. "...I can't really say. But I do have to be with him all the time. It's important."

"Fine, we don't mind him walking to Potions with us, do we Ron?" said Hermione, nudging Ron in the ribs.

"No, I guess we don't..."

"Oh, here he is now," said Harry. All three pairs of eyes fell on the blonde walking towards them.

"Hey, Harry. And you two," said

Draco awkwardly.

"Ron and Hermione want to spend of time getting to know you, I suppose..." said Harry, and gave Draco a look that said 'I don't even know'. The Slytherin shrugged and gave them a small grin.

"Fine by me."

He didn't really need to speak to either of them anyway; like their walk to the library, Hermione and Ron were walking in front while Draco and Harry walked behind them. Maybe it was from the way Hermione seemed to somehow make her and Ron walk faster.

Draco and Harry were in the midst of conversation when a hand reached out and clutched Draco's arm. The boy spun around widely, but relaxed when he saw it was only Skià. Harry did the same. Except, there was something eerily strange about the seventh year.

Her usually red-brown eyes were now a dull red and stared unblinkingly into Draco's. There was no emotion in them.

"... Skià? Are... Are you alright?" asked Draco. Her grip didn't loosen and her eyes still didn't blink.

"... You won't be." Her voice was low and expressionless.

"Pardon?" Draco looked back at her confused, as did Harry.

"Sometimes love is a dangerous thing."

The two boys looked back and to from each other, trying to work out what she was saying.

"Are you saying that you've had a vision?" asked Harry.

"Harry, Malfoy, come on!" Ron called from the end of the corridor.

"We have to go, Skià..." Draco said, finally prying his arm from her grip.

"Of course..." She walked away after one last stare into Draco's eyes.

They carried on walking, both equally confused and disturbed.

"What was that all about?" asked Harry.

"Maybe they know?"

"Huh?"

"Whoever is accordingly after me, I mean. Maybe they know about us."

"How could they?"

"It's a possibility. And maybe... Maybe they'll try and use that against me."

"I guess it is possible, but how on Earth would they have been able to find out about the two of us...?"

"Find out what?"

Neither of them realised that they had caught up to Ron and Hermione. Ron looked at them, clearly awaiting an answer.

"It's nothing, Ron," said Harry quickly.

"Nothing at all," added Draco. The ginger looked at them suspiciously, clearly knowing that they were hiding something but he didn't bother to question it further. The four of them continued to walk to their lesson, though this time, Draco and Harry were silent, both worried about the thought of Ron figuring out about them.

* * *

As they had a free lesson before dinner, the two boys were sat on Draco's bed, both reading over their Transfiguration notes. Neither of them were concentrating, though; both minds were focused on what happened that morning with Skià.

"Merlin, I really can't do this," Draco said after about ten minutes of trying, and failing, to take everything in.

"Me too. I need a distraction," said Harry. Draco smirked slyly and his hands reached for Harry's armpits.

"Draco? What are you- AH! Draco, ahaha, that tickles!" Harry laughed, trying to slap Draco's hands away, which were now near his ribs.

"Draco, I swear to god, if you don't stop I'm going to have to bloody restrain you!" he said. When Draco didn't show any sign of stopping, Harry scooped up the green and silver Slytherin tie which laid next to him, grabbed both of Draco's wrists, wrapped the tie around them and tied them to the top of the headboard. Harry nodded in triumph.

"Ha! I'd love to see you try to get me now!" he said. Draco's smirk returned and he raised his eyebrow.

"I didn't know you were kinky," he said, peering up at his tied hands.

"I'm not! I was just stopping you from tickling me!" Harry protested, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

"Then why haven't you untied me yet?" Draco questioned.

"Oh, shut up! I'll let you go now..."

But when he started to reach up to Draco's tied wrists, the look of his lover completely defenceless stopped him in his tracks.

"I thought you were letting me go? That lustful look in your eyes is telling me a different story, Harry," chuckled Draco.

"Oh for fuck's sake, who am I kidding?"

Harry closed in on Draco, and their lips were just a centimetre apart. Instead of kissing him, however, he nibbled at Draco's bottom lip. Harry grinned, and once again moved down to Draco's sensitive spot. The blonde shuddered.

"Merlin's sake Harry, do you have to be such a tease?" he demanded. Harry grinned, and he rose back up so he could place his lips on Draco's. Like before, his hands went to Draco's shirt as he started to undo it. This time, there would be no interruptions. This time...

"Harry! You would never guess... OH MY SWEET MERLIN!" a surprised yell came from the doorway. Harry swore loudly and slowly turned round to look at his best friend.

"Perhaps you should make sure the door is locked next time," suggested Draco, and he sighed.

"Ron, I can explain..." started Harry.

"How... How can you? I can't... Bloody hell..." he babbled, and he quickly exited the room.

"I better go after him," said Harry, getting up off the bed.

"Uh, Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Hands."

"Oh right, sorry." Harry got his wand out of his pocket and flicked it so the tie around Draco's wrists loosened.

"I better come with you..." said Draco. Harry nodded and the two of them hurried after the confused, and most likely disgusted, Ronald Weasley.

* * *

I'm sorry this is pretty short. The reason? One, like I said before, it's getting pretty late here so I can't write much more. Two, I started a SP fanfic! Yay! So, considering I wrote that as well, I think I did pretty well. If you like South Park, you should check it out! It hadn't had many views or anything yet, which is sad.

Speaking of which, please leave a review? I know I ask every time but I hardly got any last time. So yeah.

Thanks for reading!


	9. Danger, We're Coming

Hello my darling readers!

If you haven't guessed my now, I'm just a master at titles. Hahaha... No.

I'm sorry again that these chapters aren't as long as they used to be. I do try! It's not exactly easy writing two chapters at once.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 9

* * *

"Ron! Ron, wait!"

Harry and Draco quickly ran after the retreated Gryffindor. Harry couldn't believe how stupid he was to leave that bloody door unlocked... What was he thinking?

They only managed to catch up to Ron when they reached the common room. Harry grabbed his arm and spun him round so he faced them. His face was almost as red as his hair.

"Ron, will you please just listen..."

"NO! What the HELL are you thinking?"

"Not so loud!" hissed Draco. Ron ignored him.

"After all of those bloody years of him making your life hell, you suddenly... Have feelings for him, putting it nicely?" a couple of gasps exited the mouths of those standing near them.

"Ron, what's the matter?" asked Hermione as she approached them.

"You knew, didn't you?" he demanded.

"Knew what?"

"About... About Harry and Malfoy! It makes sense now, all of the looks you gave them, all of those..." his face went pale. "Oh sweet Merlin, that's what you were doing..."

"NO! We literally forgot to set the bloody alarm! We haven't even done that yet! Hermione was either just teasing me, or made a mistake," said Harry hurriedly.

"Ron, he told me about his feelings before they were together. He was confused, and... Well, we're his friends, we need to accept who he loves," said Hermione. Harry smiled at her in gratitude.

"B-but, it's Malfoy!"

"No. It's Draco," corrected Harry.

"It's the same thing!"

"No, it isn't. Malfoy is the boy who bullied us, the one with the wrong sort of upbringing. Draco is the boy who was misunderstood, the one who risked his life to help us in the war. He's the one I love."

Draco looked up at Harry and smiled happily. He couldn't have asked for a better partner.

"Yeah, I understand he has changed, but to go from enemies to lovers? How is that possible?"

"Ron, please, could you just accept it?" pleaded Hermione.

"I don't know if I can. How the hell can you fall in love with him?" he snapped, a finger pointing at Draco. He looked at the ginger coldly. He tried not to be offended, but it was hard for him not to be.

"We're fucking made for each other, Ron!" Harry shouted.

"Oh please, stop with all that stuff. You haven't been together that long!"

"We literally are! He's part Veela, you twat, and I'm his bloody mate!"

A couple of gasps yet again went around the room.

"Harry, is it really a good idea to say it that loudly?" whispered Draco.

"What? How do you know?" asked Ron, a look of surprise on his face.

"Because the effects of the poison don't happen when he's with me, because of the Veela blood. Even ask Snape," replied Harry in a much quieter voice.

"Wow, okay... Uh, I don't really know how to put my head around all of this..." said Ron.

"You don't have to. You just have to accept it. Please, Ron," said Harry softly. Ron sighed and shook his head.

"I want you to be happy, mate. But... I just can't accept this, not at the moment anyway. I'm sorry," he said, then walked away and out of the common room.

"Ron, wait!" Hermione called, but her boyfriend had already left the room. She sighed and turned to Harry and Draco. "I'm sorry about this. I'll speak to him, see if I can sort him out."

"Thank you, Hermione," sighed Harry.

"That would be nice of you," added Draco. She nodded and rushed out of the room to find Ron. Everyone in the room watched her leave, then their eyes turned back to Harry and Draco.

"Uh... Congratulations, guys," said Millicent, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, we're happy for you," added Susan.

"If anyone starts any shit about this, then they will have me to deal with," said Pansy.

"Well, that's not a very big threat," grinned Blaise next to her. "...I take that back..." he said after he earned a slap across the back of his head.

"We better get going for dinner..." said Seamus. Murmurs of agreement spread across the common room and the awkwardness was lifted after people started talking once again and left the room.

* * *

"Wow, that was pretty awkward," laughed Draco as they walked down the corridor.

"Yeah, very haha," said Harry, though he didn't seem to be paying much attention.

"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Draco, a look of concern spread across his face.

"Oh, nothing... Just thinking about Ron and everything," sighed Harry.

"Don't worry, Harry. He's your best friend; he'll accept us soon. It's just different for him," smiled Draco.

"I sure hope so," Harry sighed. "Hey, what's going on over there?" he said suddenly, pointing towards the end of the corridor. Draco looked in the direction of where Harry was pointing to find a large group of people crowded round one area. Draco and Harry exchanged a look of curiosity before quickly walking over to the students standing in a crowd.

"What's going on?" Harry asked Neville, who was standing at the back.

"Someone's written something on the wall. It looks like blood," he replied, looking a little pale.

"That again? What could it possibly be this time?" Harry sighed, and pulled Draco with him through the crowd to see properly. "I swear to God, this is..." he stopped when he looked up at what was written. He gulped and nudged Draco, who gasped as he read the message.

"What is going on here! Move out of the way, let me get through!" said Professor McGonagall as she walked through the crowded corridor. She looked up at the wall and read the words written there.

_There's a price to pay for loving your enemy._

_Danger; We're coming._

She blinked and looked at Draco and Harry standing besides her.

"Could it be... Oh Severus, thank Merlin you're here! Look at this," the headmistress said, gesturing towards the wall behind her. Professor Snape's eyes widened a little after he was done reading the message.

"We need to send out a warning to the other teachers. This is an urgent matter," he said. He turned to Draco and muttered: "Draco, be careful, okay? This might not be to do with you and... Potter, but it could very well be. Stay with him, in fact, it might be best if the two of you were with someone else as well, just to be certain."

"Minerva, Severus, thank goodness I have found you!"

They turned to see Professor Shadow running down the corridor towards them, a panicked look on her face. She had a look of further panic after she read what was written on the wall.

"Louise, whatever is the matter?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Skià... Skià is missing!" she cried.

"Missing? Are you sure?"

"I'm positive! I've looked everywhere she could possibly be, I don't know where she is!"

"Calm down, Louise, we'll find her... Potter, what about that map of yours?" asked Snape, turning to Harry.

"Of course, give me a second..." said Harry, fumbling through his pockets to find the Marauder's Map. He pulled it out and quickly pointed his wand at it, whispering the words:

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

After the map was revealed, he hurriedly opened it up. The five of them looked across the paper, trying to find Skià's name. They weren't successful with the search.

"Nothing. She isn't anywhere to be seen," Professor Shadow whispered, on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry, professor, even if she doesn't show up here doesn't mean she's not in the castle or... Or anything," said Harry. "The Room of Requirement and the Chamber of Secrets don't show up on here. She could be in one of those."

"Are you sure?" Harry nodded. "Thank you... I doubt that she is in the Chamber, but I'll have a look anyway. Minerva, could you check the Room of Requirement for me?" she asked.

"Of course," said Professor McGonagall.

"Thank you. And Severus, will you take the boys to my office? We'll both be there with you soon."

"Yes, I will," replied Professor Snape.

"Thank you. We better get going, Minerva."

* * *

"Why do you think she wants me and you back here?" Harry asked Draco once they were sat in Professor Shadow's office with Professor Snape.

"Because she probably wants to see if Skià will get a vision from either of you about that little... Thing we saw earlier."

"I hope she's okay," said Draco.

"Yeah, me too... I wonder what was wrong with her yesterday, though," said Harry,

"Wrong with her?" asked Professor Snape.

"Yeah, she was actually really strange. Her eyes were red and everything; no hint of brown at all. Do you think it could be linked to what's happened now, Sev?" asked Draco.

"Nothing may have happened to her, Draco. She might have just gone to the Room of Requirement for something."

"I hope so."

The room fell silent as the three of them pondered over the thought of where the missing Slytherin could be. Was it just as simple as her visiting the Room of Requirement? Were they simply overreacting?

The three heads turned to the door when it opened about ten minutes later. Professor McGonagall had her arm around Professor Shadow, who had a highly worried expression on her face.

"Did you not find her?" asked Professor Snape.

"No, but I found this in the Room of Requirement," said Professor McGonagall, handing the Potions Master a small piece of parchment. He took it and read what was written. Draco and Harry read over his shoulder.

_She's in our hands._

"So she's been kidnapped?"

"It seems so..." Minerva sighed. She wrapped her arms around Louise, who let out a sob.

"We moved here because we thought it would be better for us here, now that there didn't seem to be anymore threats in this school. But now my own sister has been taken, and we don't even know who did it!"

"Louise, please, do not get this worried. Skià is a strong girl; I'm sure she will be fine. We will find her before you know it, I promise you," the headmistress said comfortingly. Louise nodded and wiped her tears away.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just that I care about her a lot, I can't stand the thought of her getting hurt..."

"Don't worry, Louise. She will be okay," said Severus. She nodded and smiled.

"Thank you both," she said, smiling. She turned to Draco and Harry, her face once again serious. "Please, be careful. I don't want anything to happen to either of you," she said softly.

"We will be, don't worry," said Harry.

"Nothing will happen to us," added Draco. She nodded.

"Good. I know that you will stay together."

* * *

"I don't feel right just sitting here, you know. I feel like we should be out there looking for her," said Harry as they sat in their room late that night. Neither of them could sleep. Draco sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I do as well. I'm very worried about her," he said. Harry smiled sadly and gestured for Draco to sit on his bed. When the blonde did so, Harry wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.

"I know. I am too," he said softly. Draco smiled and rested his head on his shoulder. His smile grew smaller when he saw the corner of a piece of parchment poking out from under Harry's pillow.

"What's that?" he asked. Harry pulled away from Draco and looked to where Draco was. He frowned, puzzled.

"I don't know."

Draco crawled across the bed and pulled the piece of paper out from under the pillow. Harry smiled at the look of Draco's face and his beautiful features as he watched him read whatever he was reading. His smile faded, however, when Draco's expression grew cold.

"Draco? What is it?"

"I should be the one asking that," he replied, looking up at Harry. He crumpled up the paper in one hand, dropped it on the floor, and got up off the bed.

"Draco, what is wrong with you?"

"THAT IS WHAT IS WRONG!" Draco bellowed suddenly, pointing to the crumpled paper on the floor.

"What is it? What does it say?"

"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT IT SAYS!" he screamed. "How could you?" he whispered in a much quieter voice. By this point, he was by the door with his hand on the handle.

"Draco, please..."

"I thought we had something special. I thought you felt the love I feel for you. Clearly, you don't feel the same way," he whispered. He opened the door, stepped out into the hallway, and slammed the door after him.

"Draco, wait!" Harry called. He stepped forward, but paused, and picked up the piece of paper Draco had thrown on the floor. Harry placed a hand over his mouth and his eyes widened as he read the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_Don't worry, I heard about what happened before. Nobody will find out about the two of us, baby._

_Can we meet up again soon? I love you._

* * *

Draco ignored Harry's call after him and continued to march down the corridor and down the stairs. How could Harry do this to him? He tried to make sense of the situation, tried to make himself go back to their room and talk to Harry about this, but the Veela part of him was taking over. Tears burned in his eyes and ran down each cheek as he descended the steps leading to the eighth year common room. He didn't care where he was going; he just wanted to get away from this heartbreaking feeling. His chest was burning and he felt that old feeling in his stomach.

He stopped abruptly in the middle of the common room when he heard footsteps. He turned quickly, his wide eyes scanning the room.

"Who's there?"

An arm suddenly wrapped around his neck and jolted upwards so his head was facing upwards. He gasped and tried to pull the arm away from the neck it was choking, but a burning liquid was pouring down his throat which stopped him. The last of the liquid was unwillingly consumed, and he heard the flask shatter on the floor. His neck was released, but he started to feel faint, his eyes were beginning to close, and he fell against the body behind him. Two strong arms caught him, and the figure leaned further towards him.

"See you soon, Draco..." a voice said. It seemed so far away.

Then, everything went black.

* * *

How could Draco think that Harry would cheat on him like that? Of course he would never do that! But then he realised... Of course Draco would think that. His Veela blood would naturally make him presume the worst about this situation. Then that's when it came to him... The letter. The writing on the wall.

"Shit, Draco!" he shouted, and ran out of the room and down both of the sets of stairs.

"Draco! Draco, where are you?" he called. He turned the common room light on and stepped across, but stopped when he stepped on something. He bent down to see what it was, and gasped at what is was.

Shards of glass were on the floor, and on them was Draco's wand snapped in half. Droplets of blood were splattered around it.

* * *

I am such an evil person. *hides in corner*

Who are "they"? :O I guess you'll have to wait, mwahaha!

Reviews are nice, aren't they? Yeeeah, they are. Thanks for reading!


	10. Finding Draco Malfoy

I really am evil, aren't I? First I give you a cliffhanger, then I post a day late. How awful of me.

I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway. It's actually a decent amount of words! Yay :D

Will you learn anything in this chapter? You'll have to wait and see...

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 10

* * *

"No... Draco..."

Harry bent down and picked up one half of the broken wand. The splinters made his palm sting but he didn't notice the pain.

"Why... Why would someone do this?" He felt a sudden anger fill through him. Draco helped in the war, he helped save lives, and this was his reward? Harry had to find him. He had to.

"Harry?"

He turned around to face his two best friends standing at the bottom of the stairs in their sleepwear, both looking tired.

"What was all that shouting for? What's going on?" asked Hermione.

"Draco... I have to find him!"

"Why, what's happened to him?" questioned Ron.

"I think he's been kidnapped by the same people who took Skià!" he cried.

"How do you know he's been taken? He could have just gone for a walk somewhere," said Hermione, with Ron nodding in agreement.

"It's obvious. Look at that," he said, pointing to the floor. Hermione gasped and Ron simply stared with widened eyes.

"T-that's his wand, isn't it?" whispered Hermione. Harry nodded.

"I need to go and find him. I don't know if you two actually want to come with me and go on another wild adventure, but I can't just leave him with whoever these people are. I have to find him." He turned to leave, but Hermione was quick to stop him.

"Wait, Harry! You can't just go on a wild chase after people you don't know. We need to figure this out, and where they could be. It's a waste of time trying to find him when we don't know anything."

Harry sighed, but he knew that Hermione's reasoning definitely had a good point. It was no wonder the sorting hat allowed him into Gryffindor: his reckless bravery could sometimes be considering a downfall.

"You're right, 'Mione. I just want to find him so badly."

"I know, Harry, I know. But we have more chance of finding him if we look into all of this first," she said softly. Harry nodded.

"Let's look on the Marauder's Map," suggested Ron. "We might be able to find them."

* * *

Draco's eyes fluttered open, then shut again as a pain shot through them and his head. He couldn't tell what was happening... Was he moving?

His eyes still shut, his mind slowly started to focus. He suddenly became aware of his predicament. His hands had been tied tightly behind his back by thick ropes, and a rag was tied in his mouth so he couldn't make a sound. It felt as though he was being carried on someone's shoulder. Whoever it was, they seemed very muscular. Draco tried to open his eyes, but as soon as he did, the world began to spin and he had to shut them again. He tried to let out a groan, but it was muffled by his gag. He tried to concentrate on his hearing instead.

"Is this really a good idea?" he heard a girl's voice say. It seemed like miles away.

"What do you mean?" this came from a male's voice this time. It seemed as though it came from the person who was carrying him, but he wasn't so sure.

"You can't be questioning this plan now, babe. We've been working on this for weeks," said another male's voice.

"I know, I know... But is this all necessary? He could have died..."

"Like I would have given a shit! That's what I wanted! But I'm glad you messed that up. You just made things better for me."

"But is it really worth it?"

"Don't start," said the other boy. "You remembered what happened last time you were like this." This made the girl stop speaking. Draco strained his ears and pushed himself to hear more, though his made was telling him to sleep.

"Where is Skià?" the boy asked.

"She's waiting for us there. Keep an eye on that map, I don't want that Potter following us," replied Draco's captor. Wait, she was waiting there? And what map? Draco wasn't able to listen to any more before he fell back into unconsciousness...

* * *

"Where is it? WHERE IS IT?"

After a whole ten minutes of searching for the Marauder's Map, the Golden Trio had no luck in finding it.

"Are you sure Draco didn't take it with him?" asked Hermione.

"No, he didn't! What do we do?" cried Harry.

"Harry, calm down. Getting worked up wont help," said Ron.

"We need to go to the teachers, and get them to help us," said Hermione.

"Alright... Alright..." said Harry.

"Let's go to Professor McGonagall first."

The three of them hurriedly set off to the headmistress' office. Harry wanted to thank his two friends for being so helpful, but through his fury and concern, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

It was only when they got to the office's entrance that they realised they didn't know the password.

"This isn't good," said Ron.

"It is probably some sweet, like Dumbledore used to have. Sherbet Lemon?" said Harry in a questioning voice. To their delight, the gargoyle moved away to let them past.

"Nice guess, Harry," said Hermione breathlessly as they ran up the stairs.

"I thought that would work," replied Harry. He raised a hand and locked at the door. "I just hope that she is in here..."

To his delight, the door opened. A slightly surprised Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway. She sighed and tilted her head at them.

"What is it now? Have you got a decent explanation as to why..." She paused and had a better look at the students standing in front of her. Her eyes slowly moved over to Harry. "Where is Draco? We've told you specifically to stay with him at all times!"

"That's why we're here! He's missing, Professor!" cried Harry.

"Missing?"

"Yes! I wanted to go straight after whoever has taken him, but these two stopped me..."

"Taken him? There's a difference between being missing and that, Harry."

"It's obvious! His wand was on the floor... It was snapped in half..."

"Oh dear... I'm going to inform the other professors, alright?"

The three students nodded. She took out her wand, and transfigured a row of owl ornaments into alive owls. She then quickly wrote something down on a small piece of parchment, muttered a spell under her breath, and made several copies of it. She changed the writing on three of them and gave them to the owls, who flew out of the window.

"I've sent a message to all of the professors about what has happened. I've told Remus, Severus and Louise to come here and the rest of them to make sure they keep the students safe," said Minerva.

"Why have you only told three of them to come to us? asked Hermione.

"Because I need the rest to make sure none of the other students get harmed, and I feel as though Remus, Severus and Louise are the ones who can help us find both Draco and Skià the most," she explained. "Louise was trying to find Skià again after you left. I know that she would hate not helping us."

All four of them turned to the door when they heard frantic knocking on it. The three of the requested professors burst into the office, all with looks of concern planted on their faces. Severus, not normally one for showing emotion, was clearly worried for his missing godson.

"How did this happen?" he demanded.

"I requested that you and Draco stick together before you left. How on Earth did he end up getting kidnapped if you were meant to be with him?" asked Louise.

"Let me speak! Don't fire a load of questions at me!" cried Harry.

"Come on, let him talk," said Remus, smiling at Harry.

"Sorry, Harry," Louise sighed. "I'm just so worried about both of them."

"I know... Well, it's a bit complicated. We were just sitting on my bed, as we couldn't sleep, but then he found this under my pillow..." he handed them the note so they could read it. Ron and Hermione also peered over so they could see what it said.

"What is this...? Harry, have you been cheating on him?" asked Louise.

"No! Of course not! I'm not that stupid! Someone obviously wrote this to me, knowing that Draco would find it. Because of his Veela blood, he naturally presumed the worse and he ran off. It was only five minutes later when I realised what had happened and I chased after him. His wand was snapped in half on the common room floor with some glass and... Blood around it."

"So someone who knows about you both has done this to lure him away from you? But how did they find out?" asked Louise, puzzled.

"Well... That's because of me," said Ron. Everyone turned to him.

"Because of you, Weasley? How?" questioned Severus.

"Because I sort of walked in on them both... And I starting shouting about it in the common room. So pretty much every eighth year would know," he explained.

"If it's the same people who took Skià, would they be in the Room of Requirement? Do you have your Marauder's Map on you, Harry, to make sure they're not somewhere in the corridor?" asked Minerva.

"I can't find it. I think it's been stolen," he muttered.

"STOLEN? How the hell did it end up getting stolen?" Remus demanded, obviously angered about the map he partly made being stolen.

"I don't know! The same way that note ended up under my pillow? This person, or people as it seems, must be pretty clever. It wouldn't surprise me if they were Ravenclaws."

"I think we should definitely search the Room of Requirement. We'll find out whoever did this if they are there," said Louise. Minerva nodded in agreement.

"Right, let's go."

* * *

When Draco awoke once more, he wasn't being carried, though his hands were still tied, as were his legs. They seemed to be tied against some sort of... Pillar? Or pole? It was hard to tell. He realised that he was no longer gagged, but instead, blindfolded. When he heard the sound of footsteps in water, he quickly lifted his head. He found it very lucky that his mind was back to normal.

"Why have you done this to me?" he said to no one in particular. The footsteps stopped.

"Oh, you're awake now, are you? Look guys, he's awake. Hurray."

The voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out who it belonged to.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded Draco.

"No one important. Say, how does it feel, Malfoy? To have been tricked by a simple plan?" he snarled.

"A simple plan?"

"Well, perhaps it wasn't simple. Not at all. But it was worth it." Draco could tell this person was grinning, whoever he was. Suddenly, Draco remembered about someone...

"Do you have Skià with you?" he asked. The man laughed, and he heard him walk over to his left.

"Oh yeah, she's right here. Say hi."

"Hi," he heard her say. But like the day before, her voice sounded strange.

"What's wrong with her? What have you done to her?"

"Oh, just the Imperious curse. You're familiar with that, aren't you Draco?"

"Why have you done that to her?"

"She was helpful. We were... Well, friends before this, in a way. At least she thought she was. We helped her out with some bullies, and gained he trust. We managed to find out about her little gift and everything. But she wouldn't be convinced in turning against you and helping me... That was a stupid mistake. So I had to resort to more drastic measures. I probably would have been able to do it without her, but hey, where's the fun in that?" Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Doing that isn't fun! It's twisted!"

"Don't be such a hypocrite, you've done it enough times yourself."

"Because I had no choice! As soon as I had the opportunity to switch sides, I took it. I would never use the Imperious curse for fun, not even when I was younger."

"Oh yeah, the switching sides... We all know that you didn't do that because you wanted to help the light. You just chose the side that seemed more likely to win. The winning side..." he paused. "No, that's not it. You just wanted to be by that bloody Potter, didn't you?"

"No! Well, in a way yes, but be by him to help him win the war. Would you really be happy if Voldemort actually won the war? Do you realise what would have happened?"

"They could have won without you."

"Yes, maybe, but I can still say I helped. Can you say the same? You must be a pretty fucked up person if you find using Imperious fun."

"I didn't even do much in the war. None of us did, I don't think. Did you?" He could sense him turning to whoever was by him.

"I guess not..." said the female voice he had remembered from earlier.

"Oh cheer up Milli, will you?" sighed the other boy.

"Milli? Millicent, is that you?"

"... I'm sorry Draco."

"Don't be so pathetic, Milli. You know what happened last time, don't you?"

"I'm not your bloody puppet! I came along with this when you were planning this in the summer because I like you, but this is just cruel! I can't tell if doing this is worse, or actually killing him..."

"Well, if you hadn't have gave him that antidote, then he would be dead!" snapped Draco's captor.

"Are you listening to yourselves? What have you become?" said Millicent softly.

"Revenge can make a man go blind, Millicent."

"Revenge? What have I ever done to you?"

"Everything!" he suddenly screamed. "For years I've put up with your shit! But last year... That was when you crossed the line."

"I really don't understand."

"Maybe you'll understand now!" the boy marched over to Draco and roughly pulled the blindfold away from his eyes. He blinked at the sudden light in his eyes, but then his gaze fell on the figure in front of him.

"... What?"

* * *

"Nothing! There is absolutely nothing!" cried Harry. They had searched thoroughly through the Room of Requirement for Draco and Skià, but to no prevail.

"Maybe you didn't think of the right thing?" suggested Hermione.

"I know I did! At least, I'm pretty sure I did..."

"You did think of the right thing."

He rotated to look at Remus, who was looking down at a piece of paper.

"What is it? Is it a note?" asked Severus.

"Yeah, it is. I'll read it out..."

_Nice try._

"Nice try? That's it? Where else could they be?" asked Harry.

"Hang on. What if they were actually in the Chamber?" said Louise.

"But you checked there yesterday..." said Minerva in a voice which was unsure.

"Yes, but it's very vast, it wouldn't surprise me if I missed them. Maybe that's why they have Skià."

"What has she got to do with the Chamber?" asked Ron.

"Both her and I are Parselmouths. They must need to her to get inside the chamber."

"Come on, then! Let's go!" exclaimed Harry, and he started to exit the office. The professors and his friends were not far behind. From their fast paces, they managed to make it to the girl's bathroom rather quickly.

"Alright, let's..."

"You're not helping them, are you?" a crying Moaning Myrtle was sat by one of the sinks.

"Helping them? No, of course not. Did they go into the Chamber, Myrtle?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, they did. Will you help Draco? Please? I wanted to tell you what happened but they threatened to hurt him if I did. That large guy and his friends I mean."

"Yeah, we will."

When he turned away from Myrtle, Louise was already about to open the chamber. It was strange hearing a professor speak Parseltongue.

"Right, is everyone ready?" she asked.

"Oh sweet Merlin," said Ron.

"What is it?" asked Hermione, immediately concerned for her boyfriend.

"It's Goyle."

"What do you mean?" said Harry, naturally glancing around the room.

"I don't mean he's here. I mean he's the one behind this."

"That's a pretty serious accusation, Weasley. How do you know?" said Severus.

"It just seems like it! I mean, I kept seeing him coming into our room late. He said he was meeting up with his girlfriend or something like that."

"That could have been true for all you know, really. He could have a girlfriend who he likes to see," said Hermione.

"Yeah, but what about this evening? He wasn't even in my room. You know that Hermione, after all, you were in there."

"That is true. But didn't you say he had an explanation?"

"Well... Yeah, he said he was going to Millicent's room."

"See? She could be his girlfriend."

"But isn't she with Theodore Nott?" asked Harry. "And doesn't she share a room with him?"

"They could have broke up secretly, and not wanted it to spread. It's happened before," suggested Hermione.

"Theodore Nott is also in the hospital wing," said Severus. "So it would have just been them two. We don't know enough to make guesses, let's just go. We're wasting time here."

"But... He's the one who told me he saw Harry and Malfoy kissing..."

* * *

"Greg? But... But why? Why you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Goyle snapped. "I got sick of how you were with us for one thing. Always ordering us around like we were your house elves. Taking advantage of two stupid guys, were you?"

"Come on, that was a long time ago. We were just kids! Can't you just forget it? We've moved on from that."

"Oh, trust me Draco, I don't care about it that much. I'm not one for living in the past. Not the far past, anyway." A pause.

"What do you mean?"

"Vincent, that's what I mean!" he shouted. "It's your fault he's dead! It's all your fault!"

"I didn't mean for him to die, Gregory. I wasn't even the one who cast the Fiend Fyre..."

"But the Fiend Fyre wouldn't have even started if you had just did what you were told to do!"

"Hand over Harry to the Dark Lord, you mean? Do you think I am stupid? You know that without Harry, we would have had no chance, right? Handing him over would have killed him, you know that."

"So? Would it have mattered?"

"Of course it would have mattered!" snapped Draco. "Imagine the world now if Voldemort had taken over."

"No, you don't get it, do you? It wouldn't have mattered if he had died, because he died anyway! Don't you remember?"

"Well, yes he did, but..."

"Exactly! He would have still come back from the dead, just earlier."

"He was after something in the Room of Requirement though, wasn't he? What if it was something that would have helped him kill Voldemort?"

"He could have got it later! But you didn't hand him over... Instead, you made Vincent die..." he whispered angrily.

"Greg, I'm sorry. I never wanted Vincent to die, okay?" sighed Draco.

"Please Gregory, he's right... I miss Vince too, but you have to move on.." said Millicent softly.

"NO!" Goyle bellowed. "I MISS HIM! He's always been by my side, and I need him! I want him back, and it's all your fault Malfoy! CRUCIO!"

Draco screamed tremendously as the unforgivable curse struck him. He could tell from the painful torture that Goyle was extremely angry. He would know, as he had never felt so much pain from the Cruciatus curse. Goyle didn't seem to be showing any signs of stopping either.

"STOP! For fuck's sake Greg, stop!" Millicent screamed. She ran over to the large Slytherin and pushed him hard so he stumbled and broke the curse. Draco's head fell on his chest, while he breathed heavily.

"What the fuck are you doing, Millicent?" he shouted, his wand pointed at her, but hers was already pointing at him.

"This is just messed up, Gregory. Stop this," she said.

"For fuck sake, you were helping us!"

"I wish I never helped you!" she screamed. "I am not going to let you..."

"Expelliarmus!"

Her wand flew out of her hand and into Theodore Nott's. Draco was so focused on Goyle and Millicent that he hasn't even realised he was there.

"Theo? What are you..."

"It sure was hard getting out of that hospital wing, I can tell you that..." he muttered, rubbing his pale forehead. "I decided on helping Gregory. Why? Because my father was furious that you went over to the other side. He told Lucius about how it was a disgrace that how both you and your mother swapped sides. So Lucius told him that if he bothered him so badly, that he should help Lucius to get you back to the dark side. But you know what happened? My father was murdered trying to help Lucius. If you hadn't swapped sides, I would still have my dad."

"Look, I didn't mean for him or Vince to die! I'm sorry that they did, but I honestly didn't mean for them to."

"Sorry isn't going to help anything, now is it!" snapped Goyle. His wand was aimed back at Draco. His mouth opened, and Draco braced himself for whatever was coming, but nothing came.

"SHIT! Greg, they were just in the bathroom, and now they've disappeared! They must be on their way here!" The distraction from the map Nott was looking at made Millicent leap at him in an attempt to retrieve her wand back, though Goyle was already in the position to stop her.

"Stupefy!" he shouted, and the girl flew back and smashed her head against the wall behind her. She lay on the wet floor, unconscious. "Just leave her there, a hit like that will probably make her forget what happened here."

"You can't just leave her there like that!" shouted Draco.

"Watch me," Goyle laughed. "Theo, grab Skià," he ordered while he untied Draco's ropes.

"Come on, Greg, hurry..."

* * *

"Draco? Draco, where are you?" called Harry as they all entered the main part of the Chamber. "Draco?"

"... Harry?"

"Oh thank Merlin... Where are they?" he asked as he crouched by the blonde Slytherin lying on the floor. Ropes surrounded him.

"I don't know where they went... I think they left somewhere. They were about to take me with them but they heard you open the passageway and left me."

"I'm so glad we found you, I was worried sick..."

"Is that Millicent?" said Hermione, pointing over to the direction of the far wall. Louise quickly strode over where she was pointing, looked down, and nodded.

"Yes, it is. She looks very hurt... She's had a severe blow to her head..." he said, and bent down by her. "Millicent? Come on, wake up..." The Professor shook her shoulder gently.

"What? Ow... My head..." she winced, putting a hand to the back of her head. She gasped when she saw the blood on her hand. "I don't even know how this happened..."

"Come on, we'll get you to the hospital wing," said Louise, helping the girl up.

Harry turned to Draco by his side, who seemed... Different.

"Draco? Are you alright?" he asked, giving the boy a hug. Gently, just in case he was hurt.

"Yeah... I'm just a bit dizzy. I think they gave me something to make me unconscious."

"I see..." said Harry, yet it seemed more than dizziness that was bothering him.

* * *

Is Draco safe? Or his he not? You'll have to wait and see...

I can't imagine this is going to be much longer, I must admit. I can assure you, though, that you are going to love my next HP story. It's going to be very long. Hopefully, anyway.

Anyhow, reviews are very appreciated. I don't tend to get that many ;-;

Thank you for reading!


	11. Imposter

I'm really sorry that this is late again. I have my reasons, and I posted them at the end of my other story's chapter, and I'll do the same here. Sorry to anyone who reads my other story and ends up reading it twice.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, even though it isn't particularly long.

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 11

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay, Draco? You don't seem like you are..."

"I'm fine, Harry," he snapped. Harry blinked. What had happened to make him like this? "I love how my mother isn't even here to see if I'm okay." Was that why he was like he was?

"I don't know where she is... Hey, Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes?"

"Where is Narcissa?"

All four professors froze at those words. They turned to each other, though said nothing.

"Well?" said Draco as they started to walk again.

"The thing is, Draco, is that she... She is in St Mungos," said Severus. "She was somehow poisoned, not as severely as you, though it almost killed her. We didn't tell you because you have enough to deal with right now and we were worried that your Veela powers could come through badly if you found out."

"Oh, I see..."

"That's all? I thought I would get a worse reaction than that."

"I'm just a little shocked, that's all. I'm just grateful that she's alive. Would I be able to see her?" he asked.

"Of course you'll be able to see her, Draco," said Louise. "We just didn't know how to tell you. We wanted to wait until she was better."

"It's alright, I understand completely."

"I don't understand any of this." All eyes turned to Millicent. "I can't remember anything. I can barely remember the plan..."

"Plan? You were part of this?" Minerva demanded. Millicent sighed and nodded.

"I hate to say it, but yes. I never wanted it to go this far though, and I did try and stop them. I was the one who gave him the antidote. I only went along with the plan because Theo forced me to and I didn't tell anyone because I like him. Well, I should say 'liked'," she explained. "But I assure you, I never wanted to hurt Draco."

"I don't know if I can believe that," the said boy muttered coldly. Millicent blinked at him and shook her head.

"Draco? Why can't you believe it?"

"It just seems to be a bit off, doesn't it? Doing something you don't want to do for someone you like."

"You did the same thing!" said Ron. "You ran off away from Harry yet you didn't want to."

"Draco, really, what's the matter?" Harry asked softly. Draco shook his head and walked faster so he was no longer walking by Harry's side. Harry was about to catch up to him, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. It was Remus.

"Harry, leave him be. He is probably still angry and upset about what has happened, and you don't want to increase this otherwise something bad could happen. I expected the mentioning of his mother would do just that, but clearly not," he said.

"I just want him back."

"I know, Harry. I know."

* * *

"So, we still need to find Skià," Louise said as they all entered Professor McGonagall's office. They were now joined by Pansy and Blaise, who were soon informed of what had occurred. "Did they leave the Chamber with her, Draco?"

"Hm?" he looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, I'm not sure. I think I may have saw them head in that direction."

"Them? I just realised, throughout all of this, we don't know who it was for sure. Who was it?" asked Harry. There was a moment of hesitation before Draco spoke again.

"Theodore Nott and Gregory Goyle, as well as Millicent, obviously."

"Yes, we know about Millicent. We've sent her to the hospital wing," said Louise.

"Speaking of the hospital wing, wasn't Theodore meant to be in there?" questioned Hermione.

"He snook out of there, I think," Draco replied.

"I told you guys that Goyle was part of this! I knew it!" Ron exclaimed.

"Want a medal?" Draco snapped. Ron blinked at him, confused.

"Draco, what is the matter with you?" murmured Harry.

"I... I don't know."

"Don't worry about it, Draco," said Severus. "It's normal for you to be like this. We're just lucky that we found you as soon as we did..."

Harry couldn't help but be disappointed throughout the day. Draco just was not speaking at all, and he wasn't acting like himself. Harry knew that it was understandable for Draco to act this way, and that it was going to take a little time for him to go back to how he was before, but it was still hard for Harry.

That night, Harry had tried to snuggle up to Draco as they did their homework at their desk, but the Slytherin had pushed Harry away.

"Please, I'm not in the mood," he had said.

Harry couldn't help but feel rejected. Was it selfish of him? Maybe he just wasn't understanding enough. It must have been extremely tough for Draco. Harry didn't even know what the blonde went through. Even by telling himself this, he still couldn't dispose of the loneliness that night as he slept in his bed alone.

It hadn't changed the next morning either. Ron and Hermione did their best to cheer him up, but no matter how much they tried, Harry just wasn't happy. Pansy and Blaise tried to talk to Draco and get through to him, but their attempts did nothing. There was definitely something wrong with their friend but they couldn't work out what it was.

He stayed silent even when a younger year stammered a message to him.

"P-Professor Snape has asked you and Harry Potter to come to his office."

Draco had simply nodded, rose from the table, and left without even a goodbye to Pansy and Blaise. He joined Harry at the Great Hall's exit, and was still quiet. He didn't say anything until the pair entered Severus' office, and even then, his words weren't directed at Harry.

"Why have you wanted us here?" Draco asked.

"I want to talk about how you've been. Sit down," the Potions Master replied. Harry and Draco did as they were told and sat in the seats opposite the professor.

"What do you mean?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Draco. I mean the way you have been acting. Obviously, you aren't going to be fully okay after your ordeal with Goyle and Nott, but as none of your Veela powers have come through, clearly you haven't been in the sort of pain and anger to push you over the edge. So why have you been like this?" Severus questioned. There was a slight pause before Draco spoke again.

"I don't know."

"Obviously you must know. As much as I hate to admit it, you and Potter were incredibly close before this, and now you've barely talked! Perhaps... Contact between you two would actually help you."

"Maybe I don't want contact or anything! I just don't feel right about it, and I can't help it! You need to give me time. So if you excuse me Professor Snape, I am just going to leave this now!" Draco snapped, and began to rise out of his chair, though a wand pointed towards him stopped him in his tracks. Harry stared at Severus, shocked.

"Professor, what are you doing?"

"Draco calls me Severus," he replied quietly. Silence fell on the room.

"I-I was just angry! That's why I didn't call you Severus!"

"Don't you lie to me," he hissed. "Potter, get Minerva now."

* * *

Harry returned with the headmistress, and also Louise, who was in the office at the time. They all looked over at Severus, who was still pointing his wand at Draco, who was now sitting back in his seat.

"Severus, what is the meaning of this?" Minerva asked, her eyes gazing back and to from Severus and Draco.

"This isn't Draco," he answered.

"What do you mean, I'm not Draco? That's mad!"

"Severus, what has made you accuse him of that?" Louise asked.

"He called me 'Professor Snape'. Never when we have not been in class has he called me that," Severus explained.

"But... But what if he was just angry?" Louise asked softly.

"Doesn't it make sense though, with how he has been?"

"How can we know for sure, though?" said Minerva. "It isn't right to make accusations without being certain."

"We could use Veritasium."

"W-What?" the blonde said.

"Severus, no! You can't use that on a student..."

"But we need to find out if this is Draco or not! For the sake of Salazar, he could be somewhere right now seriously hurt! I am not standing around letting my so-called godson here pretend to be him."

"Alright, alright..." Minerva sighed. "Where is it?"

"In that cabinet there, top shelf," replied Severus, his eyes still fixed on the possible imposter. Minerva nodded, retreated the flask, and handed it to him.

"You don't expect me to take that, do you?" asked Draco.

"If you aren't an imposter, then you shouldn't have any worries at all," Severus pointed out. Draco stayed silent, though he willingly took the potion.

"So, here we go. Tell me, are you Draco?"

"... No." A moment of silence fell on the room.

"Then who are you?"

"Gregory Goyle."

Harry clenched his fists. He was using a tremendous amount of self control to not hit or hex Goyle.

"Why have you pretended to be Draco?"

"Because I wanted Theo to have enough time to get away. I knew that you would have figured it out but not so soon. I planned on getting back to them, but clearly that didn't work out."

"Where are they?"

"... They are still in the Chamber."

"Come on, we need to go! You're coming with us, Goyle."

"Wait, hang on," said Harry. "How did you manage all of this?"

"Most of it is thanks to my Animagus form."

"Wait, Animagus?" said Louise in a surprised tone.

"Yes, it's of a spider."

"A spider..." murmured Harry. He thought back to that night in his and Draco's room, when that spider had been crawling across the floor. So if Harry had squashed that spider, he would have killed Goyle without realising it.

"We seriously need to go. Come on," said Severus.

* * *

Draco tugged at the chains bounding his wrists above his head, for probably the fifteenth time. Theodore Nott sighed. He was sat across from Draco, his back against the wall. Skià was stood by him.

"Seriously, will you cut that out?"

"Let me out of here now, Nott!" Draco hissed, in a voice quite unlike his own.

"For the last time, no. Orders are orders." He gritted his teeth angrily.

"Getting a bit annoyed, are we? Come over here then. Take out your anger if that's what you want!"

"SHUT UP!" Nott shouted, as rose up from where he was sitting and started to make his way over to Draco.

"If anyone should be getting angry, it's me," said Draco, looking up at the boy in front of him.

"I can tell you're already angry, Draco. Furious, even," Nott said. He was now kneeling down, and he reached out a hand which clasped around Draco's throat.

"Go on then, I'm hurt enough as it is," the blonde gasped. Nott's grip tightened, and his eyes narrowed, though to Draco's astonishment he kissed him instead. Draco was questioning why, but then a horrid burning shot through his chest and it all felt so wrong, and he could do nothing about it. When Nott pulled away, Draco's head fell down onto his chest, and he gasped for breath.

"I know about your Veela blood, Draco. Unique, isn't it?" Nott said. "One kiss can do more damage than the Cruciatus curse."

He leant in again, though he paused as he looked at Draco's eyes.

"Your... Your eyes..."

"What?"

"They're red... Like, crimson red."

"What do you..." Suddenly, Draco let out an ear-piercing scream, and Nott was quick to back away. Fury consumed Draco, and all of the betrayal and pain he had felt was circling around his mind, as well as the image of Harry.

"What's going on?" Nott demanded.

"Like you said..." Draco panted. "... My blood is unique."

He let out another scream, and then to both his and Nott's amazement, gigantic wings shot out of the blonde's back. Sharp and pointed feathers fluttered into the air and onto the ground. Nott touched one of them which had landed near him, and quickly pulled back after it cut his finger and a bead of blood oozed out. He slowly turned his head back into the direction of Draco.

"How... Was this from anger?"

"I think so..." Draco managed to say. A thought of Harry once again entered his mind, and once again, the fury got the better of him. His red eyes narrowed at Nott in a threatening fashion, and the latter boy gulped.

"S-Skià, do something!" he cried.

"No."

"Huh?" He turned to her, and his eyes widened at the sight of her wand being pointed straight at him.

"You really thought that I wouldn't be able to fight through that curse eventually?" she questioned, a sly smirk on her face. But then it faded. "You should have known not to do that, Nott."

"I-I didn't realise it would..." his voice drifted off.

They both turned back to Draco, and to their astonishment, the blonde broke the chains around his wrists with a sudden ounce of power. With the newly formed pointed wings spread out either side of him, he slowly walked towards Nott.

"You're going to pay for what you've done to me..." This time, it was Draco who had his had clasped around Nott's throat.

"Draco, please..." Skià pleaded, though the rage in Draco was far too strong for him to listen to her.

"I'm going to make you sorry," he hissed. His hand tightened incredibly, though it loosened as a shout echoed through the Chamber.

"Draco? Draco, where are you?"

"Harry?" Draco whispered, and Nott was released from his grip. Nott fell to the floor, gasping for breath with his hand rubbing his throat.

"Draco! What on Earth is this..." Harry said as he got closer, his emerald eyes staring at the wings.

"I... I..." Draco didn't know what to say. He still felt a rage for the Slytherin on the floor, and Harry could see this. The Gryffindor held Draco's hand and smiled up at him.

"Draco, it's okay. Leave him be."

It was these simple words that helped. Draco's eyes dimmed back to their original grey colour, though instead of disappearing completely, his wings turned softer and more into angel like feathers. He pulled Harry into a hug and held him close.

"Harry... I've missed you so much," he whispered, as a tear fell down his cheek.

* * *

Aww, isn't that sweet?

Anyway, here is what I said on my other story I want to tell you guys about as well:

So, the first thing I wanted to say is about my head. What I mean by that is constant headaches, from when I wake up to when I fall asleep, everyday for over a year. Naturally this makes me lack in motivation and concentration, especially from how it has become severe in the last couple of weeks. I am now getting tested and it is linked to my spine being out of alignment, so don't worry, it isn't life threatening. It is giving me difficulty in school as well, and I can imagine it will also do so in my maths exams in the next two weeks, so that sucks.

I also have something that's a bit more personal but I think it is a good thing to tell you guys as it explains why sometimes I might not get a chapter uploaded quickly. Due to problems in my family and my health and everything I'm suffering from depression. I know some people just say this when they are feeling down, but I took the Goldberg's test and I got a 52 on the scale, which could be considered pretty high. I am fine when I am with my friends, but as soon as I am on my own I'm basically a completely different person.

I also am in a struggle of recovery from self harm. It's pretty difficult and it's something that's on my mind a hell of a lot. I get urges every day and it's pretty hard... Sometimes writing will be a distraction, other days I won't even be typing it out properly and I'll be thinking about that instead. It's pretty serious and I need help with it but I don't want my mum to worry. She knows about my depression but not my self harm.

So that's about it really. I am actually not as bad today, I'm feeling better in myself. But I hope you all understand why I haven't been posting very often and everything...

On a much more positive note, I hope you liked the chapter. How many of you guessed that had happened? I am going to be ending this story very soon.

Thank you for reading.


	12. Love is Strong

I am so sorry that this is so late! I'd say I had made it up to you by making a long chapter, but it's really short xD

Not having many reviews didn't help... When I say I get motivated from them. I mean it! ;) But never mind, I hope you enjoy it anyway.

* * *

You are my Hope

Chapter 12

* * *

Nobody surrounding Draco and Harry said a word as they hugged each other, they simply looked at them and the clear love that they shared. Even Theodore Nott was peering at them, a slight show of guilt in his eyes. Not one of them wanted to break this moment between them; after being separated for what seemed like so long to them, they were finally back together. Ron's understanding of their bond had already increased after the searching for Draco, but he understood it fully at this moment. Not only did he understand, but he also accepted it. Clearly, Draco would do nothing to hurt Harry, and to him, that's all that mattered. He looked down when a hand gently clutched his own, and his gaze moved back up to look at Hermione's eyes. She smiled happily, her eyes glancing over at Harry and his love. Ron nodded, giving her hand a squeeze.

Finally, the Veela and his mate stepped away from each other, though Harry's left hand was still holding Draco's right. Tears of happiness were running down Draco's face, and they were starting to form in Harry's eyes, though the Gryffindor was doing his absolute best not to let them fall.

"I'm sorry, Harry, for believing that stupid letter. I shouldn't have been so foolish... If I hadn't believed it, this wouldn't have happened..."

"Don't apologise, Draco. You have no reason to. It was understandable that you would believe it. Nobody is to blame here apart from Goyle," he looked over at the silent form of Nott, still standing with his eyes locked onto the pair. "... And Nott."

"I-I'm..." the dark-haired Slytherin took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make much difference. I know I still hurt you. I've just been blinded by the death of my father and when Gregory told me of his plan, I obeyed."

"You do realise that this was a serious crime, Theodore?" said Louise, her arm now around her younger sister. "Kidnapping two students, assault and life-threatening harm on a wizard with Veela blood, and not to mention an assistance with someone using the Imperious curse. This is a reason to be sent to Azkaban, and you're both old enough now to go." She shot over a glare at Goyle, whose Polyjuice Potion had faded away and he now stood by Professor Snape, his eyes looking down at his feet.

"I know. I do realise. I am sorry for what I did. I'm also sorry about how I've treated Millicent. Please say sorry to her from me. I know it isn't much, but I did... No, I do care for her, and I want her to know that."

"You can tell her before you go," said Louise, her anger slightly lower than it had been previously. Nott sighed and shook his head.

"No, I feel too ashamed for that. I'll just go straight to... To Azkaban," he gulped.

"Don't worry, there aren't any dementors there anymore..." said Minerva. "In fact, it's really not the same as it used to be."

"It's still Azkaban prison!" Goyle blurted. The Potions Master besides him immediately turned to him, a cold look in his eyes.

"You can shut that mouth of yours after what you've done to my godson!" he snapped. Goyle gulped and didn't say another word.

"Can we please get out of here?" asked Skià from besides her sister. "This smell is horrid..."

"It's good to have you back, Skià," Louise chuckled. "But on a serious note, we could do with getting out of this place now. We better get going."

"Um, guys?" Draco said, gesturing to the large yet strangely beautiful wings above his head. "I've kind of got a bit of a problem with these things over here."

"Hm, that is a bit of a problem, isn't it?" Severus said, and to everyone's (besides his godson's) astonishment, he chuckled.

"Laughing about it isn't going to help, Sev! This is a serious matter!" Draco scolded, but he couldn't help but laugh as well.

"How did you even end up with those?" Ron asked, staring up that them in amazement.

"... I don't actually know," he said. He turned to his godfather for help.

"It seems as though Draco has a very rare sort of Veela blood running through his veins," explained Severus. "This sort will respond differently with his mate. If this kind is separated from their mate and becomes angry, then they will grow sharp, pointed and rather dangerous wings, as we witnessed when we first got here. If they are feeling an amazingly strong love from something which has happened, for example, this circumstance, then softer and angel sort of wings, like Draco has now."

"That explains how I got them, Sev," said Draco. "But how on Earth am I supposed to get rid of them?"

"I guess they'll just go away on their own..."

"Can you move them?" Harry asked, with a slight tone of excitement in his voice. Draco peered over his shoulder at the feathers above his head.

"Perhaps I can..."

He concentrated and focused on the wings. He could feel them, that was for sure. He experimented by simply trying to move them upwards. They obliged, and he smiled with satisfaction. Everyone was looking up at the moving wings with fascination, apart from Goyle, who was still looking down at his feet.

"Goodness, that's amazing..." said Louise.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron, grinning. "Do you think you could... Fly?"

"Flying?" said Harry. "I didn't actually think of that."

"I'm not even trying it," Draco chuckled. "I'll probably end up breaking my neck or something along those lines."

Even with those words, he was still moving them while they were walking. It was a rather... Interesting experience, suddenly acquiring wings. Even though they were pretty spectacular things to have, he hoped that they would disappear before he was around other people. He was certain that it wouldn't exactly be shrugged off by the passing students.

"Why do you keep moving them?" Harry asked, grinning and peeking up at them.

"Wouldn't you?" Draco smirked.

"Most likely. I wonder if you could actually fly or hover or something with them, like Ron said..."

"Like I said to him, if I tried to, I would probably end up hurting myself badly." They were both talking more quietly, so the people in front couldn't hear them.

"Please? For me?" he said, giving the winged blonde his best puppy eyes.

"Don't do that. It doesn't work on me."

"If I had wings, I would do it for you..."

"Jealous, are we?" Draco winked with a smirk. Even so, he gave in, and while still walking, he flapped the wings with more strength. He raised off the ground by a few feet, peering around him with astonishment.

"Wow," he said simply.

"What on Earth is that noise?" said Hermione, turning around. She gasped, and everyone else also turned to see what she was looking at.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, grinning widely.

"What's it like compared to a broomstick?" Skià questioned.

"Draco! Get down!" Severus shouted.

"Shut up Sev, you sound like my mother."

At the word mother, a few glances were exchanged. Draco sighed and lowered himself to the ground, a sudden different expression on his face.

"I know about her. I heard you tell Goyle," he said.

"We're sorry, Draco," said Louise sadly.

"It's alright, I understand," he replied. However, after a cold glare at Goyle, the wings soon vanished. Though, for some reason, Harry was sad to see them go, he was grateful that Draco didn't turn as angry as he was before.

"Can I see her?" he asked.

"Of course," said Severus.

Severus soon took both Draco and Harry to St Mungos, with the permission of Professor McGonagall. After receiving help from the receptionist and finding where his mother was rested, they were in the open doorway.

"Mother?" Draco said, slowly stepping towards her bed. She smiled at him, and soon sat up in her bed. Though she was pale, she looked fairly okay.

"Draco, I'm so glad to see you. I heard about what happened; I've been so worried about you," she said, taking her son into her arms.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Harry helped," he said, smiling over at his lover.

"I'm very grateful for what you've done for him," Narcissa smiled.

"Oh, Mrs Malfoy, I haven't done anything..." he started, but she shook her head.

"Like I said previously, call me Narcissa. It may not seem it to you, but you've done an incredible amount for Draco. You accepted him, and also me, last year when we swapped to the light. Most people, put in your circumstance, would push Draco away, but you accepted change and you allowed him into your life. Most people would also feel pressured if they were told that they were bonded with someone for life, though that was also something you simply chose to accept. Thank you."

The mother's words touched Harry, and he was grateful that she was perfectly happy with how out of all people, she was glad Harry was Draco's mate, even with how they were previously enemies.

"I should be the one thanking you," said Harry. "I'm not the only one who has been accepting. You have been also."

"Yes, well..." she paused and looked at Draco. "As long as my beloved son is happy, I am too."

Draco and Harry were laid down on a patch of grass outside the castle, looking up at the night sky lit up by the moon and the stars. Harry's invisibility cloak lay discarded behind them.

"Do you ever think about the future?" Draco asked suddenly, turning his head to look at Harry.

"Yeah, a little. Why?"

"I was just wondering," Draco replied. "Do you ever think about where we would live? And how we will turn out?" Harry smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I do."

"I wouldn't want to live somewhere too large, like the Malfoy Manor."

"Why not?"

"Because you changed my life, and that would just remind me of what my life used to be like. Plus, I quite like the idea of a smaller house somewhere in the countryside. Somewhere calm."

"I like that idea."

A silence fell for a few minutes before Draco spoke again.

"I can't imagine my life different to how it is now. Even though we're supposed to be destined for each other, I can't imagine it would have happened so soon if it wasn't for that potions lesson. I guess I am thankful to Goyle for that."

"I've always felt something. Between us, I mean," Harry added when he saw Draco's look of confusion. "Well, even though we didn't always get along..."

"That's putting it lightly."

"... We still had some sort of connection, didn't we? Ever since I rejected your friendship in first year. Sorry about that, by the way."

"Nah, it's fine, I'm over it," Draco shrugged.

"But back to what you said you said earlier... I can't imagine my life without you either anymore," smiled Harry. "I love you, Draco."

"And I love you, Harry."

Nothing had ever been more perfect for either of them than that night.

* * *

So... I'm considering leaving this story here. I'm sorry! I just have lost the inspiration for this. But, my next HP story should be a lot better than this one turned out to be... Just you wait! :P

Sorry again for the short chapter and late update, I've been SUPER busy.

Thank you for reading :)


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